Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), which serves as the state’s only Level I trauma center as well as the state’s only children’s hospital, is the epicenter of emergency care for the state of Mississippi, including emergency care provided to an increasing number of patients in acute psychiatric distress. Several hospitals in the Jackson metro area and across the state are limiting psychiatric services and/or closing inpatient psychiatric beds, forcing patients to seek care elsewhere and funneling many of them to UMMC. In particular, in 2023, a large hospital in the local Jackson area discontinued its behavioral health services, resulting in the loss of 83 inpatient and geriatric psychiatry beds for the region. Consequently, patients seeking care at UMMC’s Adult Emergency Department (AED) experience long wait times due to lack of availability of patient rooms. This is a particularly challenging scenario, given the increasing numbers of patients experiencing mental health crises and in need of immediate medical attention and intervention. Through this project, UMMC plans to redesign, demolish, and renovate portions of its existing Acute Services Wing and South Wing on the Medical Center’s main campus in Jackson, Mississippi, to allow for the construction of a dedicated Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) unit capable of treating both adult and adolescent patients. UMMC seeks $3,200,000 in funding through HRSA’s Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending program to help cover the demolition and renovation costs of the project. Funds requested through this program will also go towards equipping the newly redesigned emergency care areas. In addition to $3,200,000 in funds being sought through this application, this project is also being funded in part by $3,000,000 in internally designated UMMC funds over the course of the project timeline. This project will help UMMC emergency care teams provide immedia te care to individuals experiencing acute mental health crises, including severe depression, suicidal ideation, acute anxiety, psychosis, substance use issues, and other conditions requiring urgent psychiatric intervention. This project will also provide a safer care environment for non-psychiatric patients being treated in the AED.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).