Sheppard Pratt held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19 to celebrate the redesign of its Admissions, Psychiatric Urgent Care and main entrance lobby areas at its Towson hospital campus.
Sheppard Pratt is the nation’s largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, developmental disability, special education and social services in the country, according to a news release.
The redesign creates a more welcoming experience for patients, families and visitors, according to a new release. The physical renovation, as well as the redesign of the admissions process and model of care within Psychiatric Urgent Care, will allow Sheppard Pratt to see more patients during a time of increased need for mental health services, hospital officials said. The new space includes additional consultation rooms and exam rooms.
“We recognize the critical and growing demand for urgent mental healthcare services in Maryland, and we are working to close this gap by providing the best and safest experience possible for people in crisis,” Harsh K. Trivedi, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt, said in a statement. “Patients should have access not only to care, but to care provided in encouraging, inviting, comforting spaces that illuminate the path forward.”
Nearly one-third of those seen in Sheppard Pratt’s Psychiatric Urgent Care are people who need hospitalization, which substantially reduces emergency room visits and prolonged emergency department stays by helping people access care more directly, hospital officials said.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the existing need for mental healthcare services across the nation, driving more patients to emergency departments that are unable to accommodate the increased need, hospital officials said.
Sheppard Pratt has offered its Psychiatric Urgent Care at the Towson campus since 2011, and opened one at its new Baltimore/Washington campus in Elkridge in 2021. Both offer patients and their families an alternative to the emergency room, allowing them to receive a psychiatric assessment and triage in a welcoming environment, hospital officials said.
The institution secured nearly $1 million in state funding for this project as well as additional funding from the Hearst Foundations, Kahlert Foundation, Middendorf Foundation and the Women’s Hospital Foundation.