Griffin Health took a bold step forward in addressing the state’s growing demand for mental health crisis services by opening Connecticut’s first Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) Unit at Griffin Hospital in Derby recently.
Griffin cut the ribbon on the new 4,300 square-foot unit at a donor recognition and dedication celebration at the hospital on Oct. 8, adding to Griffin’s legacy of innovation in person-centered care.
“This unit makes a statement to patients and families that this hospital cares about them,” Griffin Health President and CEO Patrick Charmel said. “The healing environment in the EmPATH is equivalent to the exceptional comfort and care we provide in any of our inpatient units and, in fact, goes beyond. This is taking Griffin’s person-centered care to another level, and it tells a psychiatric patient that this organization understands them and their needs, and that we want to meet them.”
An EmPATH unit represents a new approach in behavioral healthcare, offering a calming therapeutic space for patients in emotional crisis instead of hospital emergency departments (EDs). With a shortage of behavioral health services statewide, individuals in emotional crisis are often brought to EDs by crisis centers, law enforcement, and well-meaning family members. However, EDs are limited in their ability to provide the therapeutic care required, leaving many without the specialized support they urgently need.
Due to patient safety concerns, treatment of mental health crisis patients in an ED can seem cold and add to the stigma of the health condition, said Lindsay Slaybaugh MSN, RN NE-BC, director of Griffin Hospital’s Emergency Department, as patients’ belongings and clothes are taken away and, due to a lack of treatment rooms, they are sometimes put into a bed in the hallway.
“It is an uncompassionate way to receive care when you are already at a low point in life,” Slaybaugh said. “This unit is very exciting because now we are giving patients a place that is full of warmth and color and empathy when they really need it. We can initiate group therapy and provide additional support that you can’t when the patient is in a bed in the hallway of the emergency department.
“We think this is a great thing for our patients, families and community. This is what Griffin does best. We get creative. We think outside the box and we put the patients first, giving them medical care from our hearts.”
Griffin’s EmPATH unit features a large, open common space with high ceilings, natural light, exterior views and soothing décor. Staffed by psychiatrists, social workers, and trained nurses, the EmPATH Unit includes sensory rooms with patient-controlled lighting and music, which will act as a safe space to help regulate emotions, earphones to listen to music and make private phone calls, tables for socializing, a nourishment station for snacks, a shower room, and physician consultation and family rooms for visitors.
The Griffin EmPATH unit is one of more than 30 across the country. Conceived by Dr. Scott Zeller in Alameda County, California in the early 2010s, the first EmPATH opened in Kentucky in July 2024. These pioneering units have reported significant success, routinely stabilizing 75% of patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies in less than 24 hours, reducing the need for hospitalization, and decreased crisis readmissions by 25%, all while eliminating many of the traumatic aspects of traditional emergency psychiatric care.
Once discharged, patients in the EmPATH unit are referred to outpatient psychiatry services. In preparation for the EmPATH unit, Griffin increased its capacity for intensive outpatient psychiatric programs with new locations in Shelton and Hamden, ensuring a comprehensive response to the growing mental health needs of the community.
“This EmPATH Unit will be truly transformational and it’s something that we think will serve as a model for other hospitals here in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast because this is the standard of care that psychiatric patients deserve and this is what they and their families want,” Charmel said.
About Griffin Health
Griffin Health is a not-for-profit health care system that includes the award-winning Griffin Hospital, an independent community teaching hospital located in Derby, Connecticut and its integrated medical practice Griffin Faculty Physicians. Griffin Hospital is a 160-bed acute care community hospital serving more than 130,000 residents of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Region.
Griffin Hospital is the flagship hospital for Planetree, an international consumer healthcare organization dedicated to promoting patient-centered care, and has received national recognition for creating a healthcare facility and an approach to patient care that is responsive to the needs of the whole person and their loved ones. Griffin’s commitment to the patient-centered care philosophy enhances its mission to improve the well-being of its communities by empowering individuals with health education, wellness programs and assistance with social conditions that adversely affect health. Many healthcare organizations around the world send visitors to Griffin Hospital’s facilities and incorporate its Planetree concepts into their healthcare delivery models.
Griffin Hospital is recognized for having industry-leading patient satisfaction ratings and has received numerous quality and clinical excellence awards. Griffin Hospital was listed as one of the “World’s Best Hospitals” by Newsweek magazine for seven consecutive years (2019-2025), awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care™ by Planetree International, and was named one of “Becker’s 100 Great Community Hospitals” the highly reputable healthcare specialty publication Becker’s Hospital Review for continued focus on equity, patient satisfaction, innovation, and improving the health needs of the surrounding community.