Abstract
Development of a Behavioral Health Response Team Background Description Managing behavioral health issues in the acute care hospital setting can be challenging. Acute care units often admit patients for medical reasons but patients many times also have a coexisting diagnosis of mental illness, substance abuse or dementia/delirium. These diagnoses are at times difficult for nurses to manage outside of the inpatient psychiatric setting and often interfere with the care of patient's with acute medical conditions. Managing this patient population without the appropriate resources may have a negative impact on the nursing practice environment. Nurses in the acute care setting at this facility frequently expressed a lack of confidence, knowledge of interventions and/or resources which inhibit their ability to safely care for this patient population. Action Taken The purpose of this innovation was to develop a nursing led interdisciplinary consult team to assist the bedside nurse in managing patients when challenging behaviors arise. The Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT) membership consisted of the Acute Care for Elders Unit Charge Nurse, Medical-Surgical Unit Charge Nurse, Security, House Supervisor and Chaplain. Pharmacy and Social Work were consulted as needed. All of the Charge Nurses attended a one day crisis intervention training led by Security which included education regarding agitated and anxious patients. The Charge Nurses also completed additional online training on managing patients with delirium and dementia. To measure the impact of the BHRT on the nursing practice environment a pre/post survey was sent to 489 Registered Nurses (RN's) from all inpatient acute care units. Outcomes and Takeaways The survey measured nursing confidence, knowledge and sense of safety in dealing with difficult patient behaviors. 98 RNs responded to the survey. The post survey results showed the nurses felt the BHRT provided them with an increased confidence in recognizing key behaviors that indicate the potential for escalation. They also reported an increase in knowledge of appropriate interventions and resources to safely manage difficult behaviors. Due to the success of the BHRT in this facility it will be expanded to one of the sister hospitals within the healthcare system. This interdisciplinary team approach has streamlined the response to more effectively manage this patient population and positively affect the nurse practice environment.
Sigma Membership
Tau Tau
Lead Author Affiliation
Nebraska Methodist Health System, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Behavioral Health Response Team, Crisis Interventions, Mental Health in Acute Care Setting
Recommended Citation
Black, Aimee; Hall, Lyndsi; and Jackson, Helen, "Development of a behavioral health response team" (2019). General Submissions: Presenations (Oral and Poster). 19.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/gen_sub_presentations/2016/posters/19
Conference Name
ANCC National Magnet Conference®
Conference Host
American Nurses Credentialing Center
Conference Location
Orlando, Florida, USA
Conference Year
2016
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Self-submission
Development of a behavioral health response team
Orlando, Florida, USA
Development of a Behavioral Health Response Team Background Description Managing behavioral health issues in the acute care hospital setting can be challenging. Acute care units often admit patients for medical reasons but patients many times also have a coexisting diagnosis of mental illness, substance abuse or dementia/delirium. These diagnoses are at times difficult for nurses to manage outside of the inpatient psychiatric setting and often interfere with the care of patient's with acute medical conditions. Managing this patient population without the appropriate resources may have a negative impact on the nursing practice environment. Nurses in the acute care setting at this facility frequently expressed a lack of confidence, knowledge of interventions and/or resources which inhibit their ability to safely care for this patient population. Action Taken The purpose of this innovation was to develop a nursing led interdisciplinary consult team to assist the bedside nurse in managing patients when challenging behaviors arise. The Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT) membership consisted of the Acute Care for Elders Unit Charge Nurse, Medical-Surgical Unit Charge Nurse, Security, House Supervisor and Chaplain. Pharmacy and Social Work were consulted as needed. All of the Charge Nurses attended a one day crisis intervention training led by Security which included education regarding agitated and anxious patients. The Charge Nurses also completed additional online training on managing patients with delirium and dementia. To measure the impact of the BHRT on the nursing practice environment a pre/post survey was sent to 489 Registered Nurses (RN's) from all inpatient acute care units. Outcomes and Takeaways The survey measured nursing confidence, knowledge and sense of safety in dealing with difficult patient behaviors. 98 RNs responded to the survey. The post survey results showed the nurses felt the BHRT provided them with an increased confidence in recognizing key behaviors that indicate the potential for escalation. They also reported an increase in knowledge of appropriate interventions and resources to safely manage difficult behaviors. Due to the success of the BHRT in this facility it will be expanded to one of the sister hospitals within the healthcare system. This interdisciplinary team approach has streamlined the response to more effectively manage this patient population and positively affect the nurse practice environment.