Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 15 for a new Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) Unit.
The EmPATH Unit is a dedicated space that will allow patients to be quickly moved from the high-stress environment of the Emergency Department to a calm location to be assessed for the appropriate level of care.
The unit is located in the Hinshaw Towers, formerly the Loma Linda University Medical Center Emergency Department, and comprises 24 treatment spaces—12 pediatric and 12 adult—designed to provide compassionate, timely care for children and adults experiencing a mental health crisis.
“As a health system, we have a responsibility to respond with innovative solutions that improve access, quality, and outcomes for the people we serve,” said Lyndon Edwards, MBA, MHS, executive vice president for hospital affairs and chief operating officer for LLUH hospitals. “The EmPATH Unit reflects that commitment.”
Edward Field, MBA, vice president for Loma Linda Behavioral Medicine Center, said the new space represents a continued commitment to providing whole-person care during some of life’s most difficult moments.
“For 35 years, our hospital has been committed to meeting the behavioral health needs of our community. Today, the EmPATH Unit represents another important step in that growth and in the evolution of behavioral healthcare at Loma Linda University Health,” Field said.
In 2023, Loma Linda University Behavioral Health was awarded $6 million in grants from California’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to support emergency services in hospital emergency departments. Loma Linda University Medical Center was one of four adult institutions awarded contracts, while the Children’s Hospital was the only pediatric center selected.
The EmPATH unit is expected to be fully operational in 2027.
EmPATH Unit ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Photo: Loma Linda University Health
EmPATH Unit ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Photo: Loma Linda University Health
EmPATH Unit ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Photo: Loma Linda University Health
EmPATH Unit ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Photo: Loma Linda University Health
The original article was published on the Loma Linda University Health news site.
