Behavioral Health in the Emergency Department: Managing Risk, Complexity, and Moral Distress at the Bedside
Speaker
Heather Theaux, RN, MS, CEN, TCRN
Heather has over twenty years of clinical experience specializing in nursing and leadership roles. Currently, she is the Director of Emergency Services/Trauma/Stroke/Behavioral Health at NorthBay Medical Center and NorthBay Vaca Valley Hospital in Solano County in California. Heather, a self-proclaimed “Army Brat” calls Louisiana her native home. She now resides in Solano County, California with three children and a self-proclaimed “sports nut”.
Description
Emergency Departments are increasingly the default setting for patients in behavioral health crisis, creating complex, high-risk situations at the bedside. Safety concerns—including self-harm, violence, and elopement—are compounded by prolonged boarding, limited resources, and regulatory demands.
Using real patient scenarios, this webinar explores key risk exposures, documentation considerations, and practical strategies to improve safety for both patients and staff.
The session will also highlight the moral distress experienced by ED teams as they navigate system constraints and competing priorities. Participants will gain actionable approaches to mitigate risk, support staff, and deliver safer, more effective care in these challenging environments.
Webinar Outline: Behavioral Health in the Emergency Department
Learning Objectives
At the end of the webinar, the participant should be able to:
- Recognize the clinical, operational, and ethical complexities of managing behavioral health patients in the emergency department, including prolonged boarding, limited resources, and competing priorities.
- Analyze real-world patient scenarios to identify key safety risks, including suicide, self-harm, elopement, violence, and deterioration while awaiting placement.
- Evaluate areas where implicit bias can influenc eemergency department care behavioral health care.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider number 12205 for 1 contact hours.
This meeting has been submitted for approval for 1 contact hour of Continuing Education Credit toward fulfillment of the requirements of ASHRM designations of FASHRM (Fellow) and DFASHRM (Distinguished Fellow) and towards CPHRM renewal.