Emergency Mental Health

Emergency Mental Health Services (EMHS) provides psychiatric evaluations and assessment of level of care for patients who self-present or are brought it to the Hospital in an acute Psychiatric Crisis. The service is available 24 hours a day.  Patients who are experiencing an acute psychiatric crisis will be evaluated by the EMHS Team which comprises Nurses, Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Ambulatory Service Representatives,, Psychiatric Residents and Attending Psychiatrists.  Both children and adults are evaluated by our services on either a voluntary or involuntary basis via legal order for an emergency evaluation.

In collaboration with Community HealthLink which sees patients in their home, at school or other areas in the community, EMHS  provides Hospital based evaluations which includes safety and stabilization and a disposition appropriate to the individual needs of the patient in the emergency department at the UMass Memorial Medical Center University campus.  If you or a family/friend are in crisis, call our triage telephone line at 866-549-2142 for Community Based Care or 508-334-3562 for EMHS and we will assist you in meeting your needs as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Following the evaluation, the Team will determine the type of care needed.  While most patients return to the community, some may require hospitalization.  The clinical team coordinates care and authorization of treatment when appropriate.