Amidst the escalating demand for mental health care, a specialized walk-in clinic in Maryland is setting a remarkable example for communities across the nation. This clinic functions like an urgent care facility, but it exclusively caters to individuals of all ages seeking help for mental health issues.
Former patient Pam Yerby Hammack vividly recalls her desperate need for mental health assistance. She characterizes her mental health struggle as sudden and traumatic, saying, “I found myself in a really dark place, not knowing what to do and where to go.”
Hammack’s daughter discovered Shepard Pratt’s psychiatric urgent care through their insurance provider. Remarkably, this facility extends its services to individuals of all age groups, with no requirement for appointments.
Dr. Harsh Trivedi, President and CEO of Sheppard Pratt, emphasizes the pressing need for accessible mental health services. He notes that across the country, there has been a substantial surge in demand for mental health care. However, many individuals find themselves stuck when trying to access these services.
Sheppard Pratt’s mental health urgent care was inaugurated in 2011 as a response to excessively long wait times in Maryland’s emergency departments, which were ranked as the worst in the nation.
Dr. Trivedi emphasizes the importance of intervening and providing assistance during crises when individuals actively seek help. Sheppard Pratt reports that it is on track to conduct approximately 10,000 urgent care patient evaluations this year, a significant increase from the 6,000 evaluations conducted in 2022. The spectrum of care offered varies from hospital stays, accounting for approximately one-third of patients, to referrals to therapists.
Trivedi highlights the profound impact of faster access to care on improving mental health outcomes. Research indicates that, on average, there is an eleven-year delay between the onset of mental illness symptoms and receiving treatment, according to Health Services Research.
Dr. Trivedi stresses the urgency of addressing this treatment gap, citing that a significant proportion of adults with mental illness receive no treatment, while the situation is even more dire for children with depression.
Shepard Pratt is now actively engaged in consultation efforts to assist other healthcare groups in establishing similar same-day clinics. Dr. Trivedi underlines the imperative of expanding this model of care, as depression continues to be a major contributor to mortality, disability, and economic costs in the United States.
For instance, recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed alarming increases in homicide and suicide rates among young Americans. Experts attribute these rises to multiple factors, including stress, social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, heightened rates of depression, limited access to mental health services, and increased availability of firearms.
Pam Yerby Hammack’s journey through diagnosis and connection to resources that transformed her life inspired her to establish a mental health ministry. Her message to others facing mental health challenges is clear: “If you wait too long, it will just spiral to something deeper and darker.”
In a nation grappling with the complexities of mental health, Shepard Pratt’s innovative mental health urgent care clinic stands as a beacon of hope, offering immediate assistance and advocating for the critical expansion of this lifesaving model of care.
