Summary: Julie Szempruch, associate vice president for the Midtown Mental Health Center, Wishard Health Services, discusses some key points regarding ER use by mental health patients, including the challenges involved with triaging such patients, effective strategies for educating this population about proper ER use as well as why the issue of ER patients with mental health issues is getting so much attention now. Szempruch, along with Joe Eppling, assistant vice president of post acute and behavioral health services at East Jefferson General Hospital, will describe their organizations' strategies for serving the needs of the behavioral health patient in the emergency room during a July 30, 2008 webinar, Emergency Department Diversion Through Behavioral Health Linkages.
