Psychiatric
Emergency & Hospital Services
Consumers
served
Recorded consumer visits to the NeuroPsychiatric Center, from
September 2000 through August 2001, of 13,186. Of those visits,
11,623 were by adult mental health patients, 1,563 were children
and adolescents seeking mental
health services, and 120 were consumers with mental retardation.
Law enforcement was involved in 2,876 of the visits.
Psychiatric
Emergency Service (PES)
Operating 24 hours a day, the Psychiatric Emergency Services
maintained an average length of time from triage by a nurse
to evaluation by a psychiatrist of 75 minutes. Incidents requiring
seclusion and restraint involved only 1% of consumers.
Liaison
within MHMRA
Developed a system for closely interfacing with the Adult
Mental Health and Mental Retardation divisions of MHMRA. A
24-hour liaison was put in place with the Mental Retardation
division, and Adult Mental Health consumers on active status
received same day follow up.
23-hour
observation service
Performed as an extension of PES individualized clinical service
plans incorporating medication administration, reinforcement
of coping skills, observation by clinical staff, family meetings,
and determination of community supports. Length of stay averaged
11 to 14 hours.
Referrals
to clinics, outpatient providers
Maintained an average of 75% of consumers who were able to
be referred to an outpatient provider or clinic and did not
require hospitalization. This supported the NPC goal of least
restrictive intervention and community re-integration.
Child
and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Service (CAPES)
Acted as a mobile health crisis team, serving 1,563 young
consumers in 12 months at the NPC, in schools, or other community
locations. Of the youth evaluated by CAPES, 86% returned to
their families and community without hospitalization.
Adult
Crisis Emergency Stabilization (ACES)
Served 124 consumers in the 16-bed Adult Crisis Emergency
Stabilization (ACES) facility that opened in September 2000.
Average length of stay was 3.6 days, with a recidivism rate
of less than 1%.
Crisis
Intervention Teams (CIT)
Strengthened the relationship with the Houston Police Department’s
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers and with other law
enforcement agencies. Law enforcement was responsible for
25% of NPC admissions with those consumers being appropriately
diverted from incarceration.
