Psychiatric
Emergency & Hospital Services
Transition
to the NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC) in October 1999
Moved the staff and program from the Crisis Center location
to the NeuroPsychiatric Center at 1502 Ben Taub Loop in the
Medical Center. Services at NPC allow for admissions and discharges
24 hours a day, 7 days a week .
Psychiatric
Emergency Services (PES)
Opened the Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) at NPC in October
of 1999. The unit is staffed 24 hours a day with psychiatrists,
registered nurses, clinical social workers, and psychiatric
specialists. Average length of stay is six hours. Served 12,875,
up from 7,399 served at the Crisis Center the previous year.
Seventy-five percent of the persons served were able to be
referred to an outpatient provider, rather than requiring
hospitalization.
23-Hour
Observation Service
Initiated this program as an extension of the emergency services
offered at NPC. Developed program standards for precautionary
status, including seizures, detox, suicide, assault, fall,
and elopement. Length of stay averaged from 11 to 14 hours.
Child
and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Services (CAPES)
CAPES served 1,118 children and adolescents. Assessment/intervention
was conducted in schools and other community locations as
well as at the NPC. Eighty-six percent returned to their families
and community without hospitalization.
Relationship
with Law Enforcement and HPD Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
Officers
Continued to provide assistance in training the CIT officers.
CIT and other law enforcement brought 2,121 persons to NPC,
thus diverting them from jails in the community and more appropriately
serving them through psychiatric interventions.
Single
Portal Authority
Served as the MHMRA Single Portal Authority for Harris County.
