Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth's Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, Colo., plans to build two safe rooms by mid-February to improve emergency room care for patients with mental health issues, according to a Steamboat Pilot & Today report.
The safe rooms will provide a place for patients with mental health issues to be cared for in a safe, non-threatening environment.
"It's not an isolation unit, it's not a containment unit," said Nathan Anderson, MD, emergency room physician at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center. "It's a room that is designed to facilitate and make better treatment of a very important clinical problem."
Patients in the safe rooms will have more privacy without being isolated and will be in contact with staff at all times, Dr. Anderson added. Video cameras will monitor the rooms for patient and staff safety, and the rooms will be large enough for patients to have visitors.
The UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center Foundation contributed $150,000 for construction of the safe rooms. Additional funds came from Yampa Valley Medical Center.