A New Path: Reducing Psychiatric Emergency Department Visits by 20% in One Year

The Guilford County Behavioral Health Center (BHUC), which opened to patients in 2021, provides integrated, compassionate care for patients experiencing behavioral health issues. The Center, which features a 24/7 behavioral health urgent care and adult facility-based crisis center, was created in a unique partnership between Guilford County and Cone Health (and with input from NCDHHS). An adjacent facility-based crisis center for children and teens is run by Sandhills Center; together, these programs are transforming the way behavioral healthcare services are delivered in the region.

In the BHUC’s first year of operation, Cone Health saw a 20% reduction in Emergency Department visits. The center averages about 425 visits per month, and 79% of patients are stabilized and discharged onsite without the need for hospitalization. Readmission rates for behavioral health patients dramatically improved as well, with only 9-14% of patients readmitted within the six months after treatment (as opposed to an average readmission rate of 43% for patients treated in emergency departments).

The Center creates a “one-stop shop” for mental health needs, and the integrated care model helps to eliminate visits to multiple agencies or specialists.

The design conveys a sense of welcome, underscoring the message that each patient is valued and important.

Double-height lobbies filled with natural light, clerestories at the nursing stations, and a palette of therapeutic, enlivening, and vibrant colors all help to create a healing environment communicating that each patient matters, that these facilities deliver the same top-level patient care as any other medical facility, and that behavioral health is an important and valued part of holistic healing.