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New dedicated adult psychiatric emergency services unit improves care at UMMC
Through a collaborative effort between the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has opened a dedicated unit within its adult Emergency Department to better serve psychiatric patients.
The new psychiatric emergency services unit provides an environment that supports both patient care and staff safety.
“This new unit is specifically designed similar to other behavioral health units, to enhance safety for both patients and staff,” said Sherry Riser, nursing director of the adult Emergency Department. “It supports a more intentional and clinically appropriate approach to the care of our psychiatric population.”
This expansion of services at UMMC was made possible through a federal appropriation championed by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
“We hear so often of people in psychiatric crisis who end up in more trouble because they can’t access the care they need,” Hyde-Smith said. “UMMC recognized a need and presented me with a solid proposal to proactively address the lack of care in Mississippi. I’m pleased to have played a role in making these emergency services available.”
The unit includes seven treatment spaces, with five beds designated for patient care and two additional seclusion rooms to provide a secure setting when needed. The layout allows care teams to treat psychiatric patients in a separate, controlled area of the ED, improving workflow and patient experience.
Dr. Kendall McKenzie, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, said the updates equip the space to better handle the increasing number of psychiatric patients seeking care.
“The original setup wasn’t built to accommodate psychiatric patients with unique requirements or to maximize safety,” McKenzie said. “The new unit expands our ability to care for these patients in a dedicated, isolated area within the emergency department.”
The addition brings UMMC in line with larger metropolitan hospitals that offer specialized psychiatric emergency services, a level of care not commonly found in emergency departments across Mississippi.
“This allows us to provide the kind of emergent psychiatric care you typically see in much larger cities,” McKenzie said.
The project was a close collaboration between the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, with clinicians, nurses and administrators working together over several years to bring the unit to life.
“We are able to deliver care that is similar to, but distinct from, the general emergency population,” said Dr. Mark Ladner, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. “Features like seclusion rooms give us the ability to create a safer setting for both patients and staff in certain situations.”
The unit is also supported by dedicated staffing, including a full-time provider presence and medical director, psychiatrist Dr. Jennie Katherine Lofton, who brings experience from the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
“This was a true team effort,” Ladner said. “Many people across emergency medicine, psychiatry, nursing and others worked for years to make this a reality. It is a state-of-the-art space that reflects UMMC’s commitment to advancing behavioral health care in Mississippi.”
With the opening of the new unit, UMMC continues to strengthen its role as the state’s safety-net hospital, expanding access to specialized care for some of Mississippi’s most vulnerable patients.