MedWest-Haywood recently opened a psychiatric evaluation area in the hospital’s emergency department to reduce the time patients may spend waiting in examination rooms prior to being transferred to mental health facilities.

Generous grant funding from The Evergreen Foundation, the Rural Hope initiative of the Golden LEAF Foundation, and the Appalachian Regional Commission helped MedWest-Haywood create the new area.

The new psychiatric evaluation area is comprised of a kitchen area, comfortable recliners, a television, a bathroom and individual areas that can be closed off by curtains for privacy. It can accommodate up to six patients at once and makes the transition and waiting period for patients more comfortable and allows the emergency department to open more rooms for other uses.

“This has been a long time coming, and I’m glad we have it open now,” said Roger Coward, assistant vice president of Emergency Services. “I think it will definitely help our population.”