WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTAP) – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was one of two U.S. Senators to reintroduce the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act.
The legislation would improve the way patients receive mental health care for mental illness in emergency departments, according to a statement from Capito.
The bipartisan bill would create a competitive grant program for emergency departments that update mental health care models.
The Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act was created in part due to a growing demand for mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The legislation recognizes that needs vary by patient, provider, and community and allows emergency departments to design the solutions that will best work for them.
Specifically, the legislation would:
Authorize a competitive grant program for emergency departments to implement innovative approaches to securing prompt access to appropriate follow-on care for individuals experiencing acute mental health episodes and presenting for care in emergency departments. Such innovative approaches could include:
Expedite transition to post-emergency care through expanded coordination with regional service providers, assessment, peer navigators, bed availability tracking and management, transfer protocol development, networking infrastructure development, and transportation services.
Increase the supply of inpatient psychiatric beds and alternative care settings, such as regional emergency psychiatric units.
Expand approaches to providing psychiatric care in the emergency department—including tele-psychiatric support and other remote psychiatric consultations, peak period crisis clinics, or creating dedicated psychiatric emergency service units.