MUSC Health has opened one of the nation’s first pediatric EmPATH units at Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina.
EmPATH stands for Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing. The units provide a short-term way to assess, treat and stabilize people. Designed in partnership with Array Architects, the unit offers children in behavioral health crises quick, personalized care in a supportive and calming environment. With more than 100 young patients seen monthly, the unit ensures timely, compassionate care for those in need, serving as a vital step in providing access to behavioral health services for children and adolescents.
MUSC Health’s EmPATH units are part of a larger effort to expand behavioral healthcare across South Carolina. The MUSC Health Jean and Hugh K. Leatherman Behavioral Care Pavilion is scheduled to open soon in Florence and will serve the Pee Dee region with triage, EmPATH units, telehealth and both outpatient and inpatient services. MUSC Health is also expanding its school-based mental health services and testing the use of telehealth to meet rural South Carolinians’ behavioral health needs. Learn more here.
