Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center celebrates major expansion, new behavioral health unit

COLUMBIA -- Howard County's only hospital celebrated a big expansion, unveiling its new behavioral health unit Monday.

The facelift more than triples its capacity for these patients, helping alleviate the strain on the emergency department. Maryland hospitals, as a whole, have been dealing with long wait times in ED's for quite some time.

Hospital leadership said the new unit not only helps increase capacity but also creates a more welcoming environment for these patients, giving them the care and dignity these patients deserve.

A longstanding issue.

Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center hasn't been immune to the issue of long wait times in the emergency rooms.

In March, a work group convened by the Maryland Hospital Association found lacking hospital capacity, lack of community health care options, and a behavioral health crisis as some of the core reasons behind the problem.  

The hospital has several projects planned to address the issue, according to hospital president Dr. Shafeeq Ahmed.

Introducing it to a packed room Monday, the first is an expanded behavioral health unit. The expansion grew it from 1,500 square feet to 7,000 square feet.

Overall, it grows capacity from six patients to 24.

Construction for the hospital's next project is set for next year. It'll be for an observation unit where patients will be evaluated for discharge or if they need more care.

Current emergency room strains

On average, the hospital sees 11 patients a day in the emergency department needing mental health care. That's on top of the average 150 patients coming in for other medical issues.

"Ever since the pandemic, we've seen a mounting degree of patients with an acute stress response," said Dr. Patricia Pugh, who is the hospital's chair of emergency medicine. "These acute conditions, mental health conditions, seem to be growing in severity."

A challenge has been how long these patients stay, with behavioral health patients often staying at least a day.

"That time can triple and quadruple for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders who have combined autism and cognitive delay, mixed with other psychiatric disorders," Pugh said.

'We're gonna have a nice, safe environment.'

Dr. Andrew Angelino, chair of psychiatry, said the space's design is going to make a big difference, too. He said the space is designed to really put patients at ease, adding the old unit didn't even have windows.

The unit has several rooms with two beds, all with their own bathroom, along with other chairs for patients to relax in.

"All we want is a good place for our patients, and this really brings it home," he said. "Having a unit like this, that's just comforting, welcoming, healing—is just a tremendous commodity for the patients."