Following the review of its behavioral health services, Trinity Health Michigan plans to expand access to outpatient mental health services in the Chelsea community and take steps to re-align inpatient care at its Trinity Health Ann Arbor and Chelsea Hospital locations.
With the expansion of outpatient care in Chelsea, the inpatient Behavioral Health Unit at Chelsea Hospital will be consolidated to Trinity Health Ann Arbor in late 2023, where patients will benefit from improved staffing and more centralized mental health resources.
Chelsea Hospital President Ben Miles spoke with Chelsea Update to discuss how the health system will expand and bolster outpatient mental health care and substance use disorder services in the Chelsea community, and still provide convenient access to inpatient mental health care.
Q: Why is Trinity Health Michigan changing how it organizes and delivers behavioral health services?
Miles: Building on our legacy of providing high quality behavioral health services, we are planning to expand our outpatient footprint so that people will have significantly improved access to more resources for the help they need.
Our strategy has three components. First, we aim to expand our virtual and in-person outpatient behavioral health services. We are exploring a variety of options and are working toward the goal of providing better access to care earlier before it becomes a crisis. We know now it can take weeks for someone to access outpatient behavioral health due to overwhelming demand. In addition to expanded outpatient services throughout the region, we will work with our Trinity Health and University of Michigan joint venture partners as well as our community partners to ensure 24/7 access to crisis support.
When patients are in need of hospitalization, the second component of the plan is to consolidate Chelsea Hospital’s Behavioral Health inpatient beds by the end of 2023. At that time Chelsea Hospital’s Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit will relocate to the unit at nearby Trinity Health Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit will increase from 24 to 36 beds.
The third component of the plan is to invest additional resources to create and staff an observation area for Behavioral Health patients within the Emergency Department. Patients presenting to our facility will receive emergency assessment and perhaps initial treatment. A team of experienced medical experts will then direct the patient to inpatient care at Trinity Health Ann Arbor or to support services available through our enhanced outpatient offices.
Why is it necessary to merge the BHS units at Chelsea Hospital and Trinity Health Ann Arbor?
Miles: Most of Trinity Health Michigan’s behavioral health inpatient units in southeast Michigan have struggled to use their licensed bed capacity. Low occupancy within our units is driven not by lack of demand, but by regulatory hurdles and our ability to fully staff these units.
National and statewide trends are leading to creation of larger behavioral health inpatient units to better support staffing and programming. National trends also demonstrate significant growth in the use of outpatient mental health services. Not only do outpatient services improve patient access but expansion of offices in Ann Arbor and Chelsea will encourage earlier intervention, a key component of our strategy.
Why make this decision now?
Miles: In the decade ahead, we believe regulatory and workforce challenges will persist. By acting now to combine our two units into one inpatient location, we are adapting to meet the ever evolving and increasingly complex mental health needs of Chelsea, Ann Arbor and surrounding communities.
For example, this change allows us to pool behavioral health providers, nurses and support staff, whose unique training and skillsets are in high demand and short supply. In doing so we can better ensure that patients admitted to the hospital have compassionate, highly experienced care at their bedside, and our colleagues have the resources and support they need to deliver high-quality care.
What message do you want the community to hear?
Miles: There are two messages. First, there is a lot happening right now behind the scenes to elevate access to mental health services in Chelsea, Ann Arbor and surrounding communities. We will be making future announcements regarding the expansion of outpatient services as soon as plans are finalized.
Second, and most importantly, for anyone reading this, if you or a loved one are experiencing depression or mental illness, please seek help immediately. Chelsea Hospital has experienced providers available to assist. Please talk to your primary care provider or contact our Behavioral Health Assessment Services team at 734-593-5251.
