WEEK 6 COURSE PROJECT: PRESENTATION SCRIPT

Jessica DiMaggio

Chamberlain College of Nursing

September 2019

PHIL-347N

Professor Michael Bodnar

First source:

Zink, A., Zink, A., Zink, A., Moon, sherrie L., Miranda, L., Dolan, K., … NaTascha. (2018, October 17). We need to find a better place to treat mental health emergencies. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2018/10/18/mental-health-care-emergency-departments/ .

The main author, Anne Zink, MD and medical director of emergency medicine in a medical center in Palmer, Alaska, uses data from Mat-su Regional Medical Center to attest to why emergency departments are not the place for mental health patients to be. She finds that her hypothesis is very strong in transferring patients from general emergency departments to regional psychiatric emergency services. The length of boarding time for patients was reduced by 80 percent due to this efficiency certain hospitals have. In contrast, another study done by Genesight listed below states that it’s not the hospital that is the problem, it’s the mental health emergency in America.

Second source:

Basch, S. (2018, December 17). Should Mental Illness Be Treated in the ER? Retrieved from https://genesight.com/should-mental-illness-be-treated-in-the-er/ .

According to the author Basch and the New York Times, patients in the emergency room spend an average of 3 hours of their time in there. ER’s are often over their capacity and too overtaxed which results in a lack of psychiatrists and an even larger lack in psychiatric care that patients need. The problem is also driven by too few outpatient resources and inpatient treatment options for mental health patients.

Third Source:

Laderman, M. (2018, January 26). Tackling The Mental Health Crisis In Emergency Departments: Look Upstream For Solutions. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20180123.22248/full/.

Authors of the Health Affair Blog writes about how tackling the mental health care crisis is a big issue we face in the world today. There is a limited demand of effective processes and services within the emergency department and this is leading to outrageous outcomes and experience of care for patients. This is not a new problem that we are facing, but it is increasingly getting worse and the healthcare system is in dire need of new ideas and system “redesign.”

Fourth Source:

Luthra, S. (2016, October 17). How Gaps In Mental Health Care Play Out In Emergency Rooms. Retrieved from

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/10/17/498270772/how-gaps-in-mental-health-care-play-out-in-emergency-rooms .

As the author, Shefali Luthra states “But a national shortage of medical specialists and inpatient facilities means that many still go untreated- despite national efforts to improve mental health care” (Luthra, p. 1, 2016). Evidence states that when a patient ends up in the ER for a crisis, there is usually no good place they receive treatment after being released from the hospital. Patients who are being treated for other conditions in the hospital, other than mental health issues, will usually be released in one to two days and follow up with their doctor after that. But for psychiatric patients, they don’t always have that option because of the large gap in the mental health care setting.

Fifth Source:

Pace, S. (2016, October 25). Mental Health Care Barriers in Emergency Rooms. Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-health-care-barriers-in-emergency-rooms-1026161 .

According to research done by the American College of Emergency Physicians, the shortage of medical professionals is causing a “traffic jam” for those who are seeking treatment for mental health issues in Emergency Departments. Many say that children are the most affected by these barriers and one in five children are diagnosed with a mental health condition every year. With the combination of economic, political, and logistic factors this has contributed to a growing crisis of healthcare and demand of certain services for patients within.