We’re encouraged to see the advancement of the new Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing Unit (EmPATH) at St. Cloud Hospital, and we applaud the leaders at CentraCare Health for taking this innovative step.
EmPATH, originally the “Alameda Model,” has been under the scrutiny of our ICSI mental health working group over the past couple of years, of which CentraCare is part. It is a promising addition to the mental health continuum for people in crisis. A study of the Alameda Model in 2014 showed that it reduced ED length-of-stay by over 80%, and approximately 76% of patients were able to be discharged from the unit avoiding unnecessary hospitalization. Similar results have been experienced in Billings, MT for a rural population.