The Front Door to Care

Seeking mental healthcare can seem daunting and frustrating, especially for anyone navigating it for the first time. 

When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis and doesn’t know where to turn, Sheppard Pratt’s Psychiatric Urgent Care is here to help, offering a welcome alternative to a hospital emergency department. Frequently referred to as the “front door” to mental healthcare, Psychiatric Urgent Care is often the first stop for anyone who needs mental healthcare or interventions.

“Psychiatric Urgent Care is a place where people can come when they are in crisis and get on a path to the care they need,” says Laura Eskander, MD, service chief for Psychiatric Urgent Care and service chief for the inpatient Young Adult Unit at the Baltimore/Washington Campus. 

Who should come to Psychiatric Urgent Care? 

Psychiatric Urgent Care is here to help anyone ages 5 and up with any mental or behavioral health condition, such as suicidal thoughts and ideation; escalating depression or anxiety; psychotic disorders; dual diagnosis disorders, such as addiction combined with a mental health condition; and others. 

This inclusive approach is essential, Dr. Eskander notes. “Anybody who walks in the door—we’ll see them and connect them to their best resources, whatever that is for them,” she says.

When should I come to Psychiatric Urgent Care? 

Reasons to immediately come to Psychiatric Urgent Care include: 

• feeling unsafe toward yourself or others
• being unable to care for yourself 
• experiencing irrational thoughts 
• operating below your typical level of functioning 

For parents and caregivers, signs to bring in a child or teen include: 

• acting out
• a change in typical behavior
• lower academic grades
• decreased social time with friends or interest in usual hobbies
• stopping extracurricular activities 

“Mood and anxiety disorders in children can manifest in complaints like headaches or belly aches,” Dr. Eskander says. “I often tell parents to listen to their gut and bring in their child if they are worried about something.” 

What should I expect during my visit? 

When patients arrive, they register and complete paperwork. Next, one of many compassionate, knowledgeable behavioral health clinicians evaluates them and performs a complete psychiatric assessment, focusing on safety and functioning. 

Based on the assessments, the provider recommends the type and level of care the person needs.

What happens after I visit? 

Based on an evaluation, the care team will determine what level of care someone needs. Care options include:

Inpatient admission

Anyone who would benefit from the maximal support of 24-hour care is offered immediate linkages to care through an admission to a Sheppard Pratt inpatient care unit or through a direct referral to an emergency room when necessary. “For example, we have a unit focused on people with dual diagnosis, a unit for thought disorders, and units for certain age groups, like children and young adults, which care for every diagnosis within those age groups. We will connect people to the appropriate higher level of care to meet their needs,” says Dr. Eskander. 

Outpatient resources

If inpatient care is not needed, providers will connect individuals with the community resources they need. “If someone needs to work with a therapist or outpatient medication providers, such as a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner, we will refer them for these resources. Our care navigation team will provide information on geographically convenient treatment resources that are in the patient’s insurance network,” says Dr. Eskander. 

“Typically, we can connect them with those resources much more expeditiously than they would with a referral from a primary care provider or by calling their insurance company.”

Day treatment program

The level of care between inpatient and outpatient options is the day hospital—a treatment program with intensive services but no overnight stays. Sheppard Pratt offers day hospital services for children as young as ten, adolescents, and adults.

“We cover all the bases and have access to everything you may need,” says Sharnice Coleman, manager of Psychiatric Urgent Care and Admissions at Sheppard Pratt’s Towson campus. “Connecting with one of these options is the first step someone takes in their treatment.” 

The road to progress

Because Dr. Eskander works in Psychiatric Urgent Care and on the Young Adult Unit, she can witness patients’ progression. 

“I see people at their most vulnerable in Psychiatric Urgent Care, and then I get to see their health improve,” she says. “On their day of discharge, they’re very thankful for Psychiatric Urgent Care—that they could just walk in and get the care that they needed.” 

Coleman hopes learning about Psychiatric Urgent Care will help remove the stigma around seeking mental healthcare. 

“You don’t have to know what you need; you just need to know that you need help,” Coleman says. “That’s where we take over, to get you on the next step toward recovery.”

Sharnice Coleman, manager of Psychiatric Urgent Care and Admissions at Sheppard Pratt’s Towson campus

If you or someone you love is experiencing a crisis and you don’t know where to turn, come see us at one of our Psychiatric Urgent Care clinics.