Emergency mental health visits on rise

Emergency mental health visits on rise
MANY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO BUDDING CRISIS
BY BECKY MALKOVICH
THE SOUTHERN

Some local hospital emergency departments are seeing an increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for mental health issues.

“Over the past eight to nine months, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of patients with mental illness complaints,” Dr. Josh Miksanek, medical director of Herrin Hospital’s emergency department, said.

The department has a total of 15 beds, he said, and at times, four to five of the total are occupied by patients with mental health issues, he said.

Harrisburg Medical Center’s emergency department is also experiencing an increase, president and CEO Rodney Smith said.

“Our emergency department is seeing more people coming from greater distances,” he said. “We used to see people come from areas within a 50-mile radius. Now they are coming from further away because there are no mental health services where they live.”

Deborah Pape, chief research and development officer for The H Group, which provides behavioral health care services in several Southern Illinois counties, said there may be several reasons for the increases.

Sometimes patients experience a mental health crisis after-hours and their only option for treatment is to go to an emergency de-partment.
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