Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - O clayton county currently lacks capacity and access of care to efficiently address its mental health and psychiatric…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - O clayton county currently lacks capacity and access of care to efficiently address its mental health and psychiatric related needs. The numbers of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths attributed to manageable or even preventable mental health incidents are reflective of the overall current socioeconomic state of the county, lack of mental health providers, and heavy burden on the community to address the needs of psychiatric patients with limited resources. Thus, srmc has made IT a priority to improve the mental health of the community. This starts with ensuring patients who seek care for mental health and substance abuse receive the initial treatment they so desperately need when arriving at southern regional medical center's emergency department. Funding the hold unit and staffing needs for two years will give the hospital the time to absorb the cost of this unit in its general operating budget. O southern regional medical center serves atlanta's southern crescent, with 75% of the population served located in clayton county. Many residents suffer from mental health and substance abuse issues, exacerbated by a lack of insurance and limited pool of mental health professionals to turn for help. With nowhere else to turn, residents show up at the emergency department for assistance where srmc has limited resources for those with mental health problems. O federal funding is requested because those served by the southern regional medical center are in crisis. The department of health and human service's health resources and services administration designated portions of srmc's service area as a medically underserved area, an area where a shortage of medical health services exists. Access to quality health care services impacts the health of an individual - their overall physical, social, and mental health - as well as the overall community. Barriers to services will delay individuals from receiving appropriate care and needed preventative services, place a financial burden on individuals as well as the community, and lead to hospitalizations that could have been prevented O the hold unit will free up space in the ED for other emergencies. The behavioral hold area will specialize to provide, care, and services for those who show up to srmc's ED. Srmc will hire staff including nurses, social workers, and other services to support patients facing a mental health and/or substance abuse crisis. Their stay at srmc will include the crisis management patients require until a more suitable placement is found, whether at in-treatment facility or from an outpatient mental health care provider. O the capital budget supports $4,115,719, which includes a 10% contingency of $374,156. An operational loss is expected for the initial years of operation related to start up and increased labor expense particularly in nursing post covid.