Lexington Medical Center has announced the opening of a new unit dedicated to serving emergency mental health patients.

The emPATH unit, which stands for Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing, will allow for needed intervention to take place for mental health patients being treated at the hospital. 

"This specialized unti will allow Lexington Medical Center to better serve Emergency Department patients experiencing mental health crises by providing needed intervention in a calm, safe and healing environment tailored to patients' behavioral health needs," said Lexington Medical Center Senior Vice President of Operations Roger Sipe said in the press release. "We are proud to work with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to meet the needs of our communities."

These units were created by emergency psychiatrist Scott Zeller and are meticulously planned out spaces.

These units help patients receive "prompt care for severe mental health issues, monitor patients in a comfortable setting, provide a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers to assess the patient's symptoms and develop a care plan for treatment and reduce inpatient admissions for patients with mental health symptoms by 60%," the press release read.

The unit was created thanks to a grant from the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

"This new facility will provide an important resource for families in the Midlands and is another important step in the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' commitment to address identified gaps throughout the continuum of care in the state's behavioral health deliever system," South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Director Robby Kerr said in the press release. "These efforts have included investing in behavioral health infrastructure, increasing reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers to improve access to care and the addition of new community-based services through the state's Medicaid program that may serve as needed step-down care options for those who present in the state's new EmPath units."