Psychiatric care in hospitals is often lacking, but one Minnesota hospital plans to change that with a new resource center staffed with clinicians who will discuss mental health options with patients and their families.
Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), a 455-bed Level 1 trauma center in Minneapolis, opened its Psychiatric Family Resource Center as a support option for patients going through a mental health crisis, reports the (Minnesota) StarTribune. The hospital has an acute psychiatric ward that sees about 11,000 patients a year, according to the article, but the resource center will offer ways to connect patients with outside treatment options and a safe space to discuss mental health issues.
"This will be a space where people can talk about mental illness as openly as they talk about diabetes or any other health condition," Megen Coyne, senior director of psychiatry at HCMC, told the newspaper.
A significant majority of emergency doctors say psychiatric offerings at hospitals are insufficient, and studies have shown that mental health issues are the cause of a number of hospital readmissions.
But the hospital's new private center will allow staff to help patients seek care or help for mental health issues, HCMC officials told the StarTribune. It also can help family and friends of the patient. The program seeks to “demystify” psychiatric treatment and end the stigma associated with mental illness.
The center was funded by $220,000 in private donations and was developed by Michael Popkin, M.D., the previous director of psychiatry for HCMC, according to the article. Popkin was inspired by visiting a similar resource center at Massachusetts General in Boston.