Emergency Services

Psychiatric Emergency Services

Where to Go in an Emergency

Important Phone Numbers

Adult Emergency
410-328-9400
Pediatric Emergency
410-328-6335
Psychiatric Emergency Services
410-328-1219

Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) service provides a single point of entry for adult patients over 18 years of age in need of urgent psychiatric assessment, evaluation and referral. Services are provided on a walk-in basis and access to psychiatric and addiction resources are available.

Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) is a 24-hour a day service provided for psychiatric emergencies for both voluntary and involuntary patients primarily for the residents of Baltimore City and surrounding counties. PES has over 3,600 visits a year and performs triage, evaluation, and admission services. The treatment team features a multidisciplinary approach, with professionals from psychiatry, social work, psychiatric nursing, chemical dependency and community mental health.

PES clinical staff consists of :

A medical director
An associate medical director
Attending psychiatrist
Resident physicians
Psychiatric nurses
Psychiatric nurse practitioner
Social workers
Mental health associates
Registration/admitting clerks.

The PES professional staff provides consultation services to the Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments. Collaboration with the Adult Emergency Department occurs when patients have co morbid complex medical or surgical conditions.

Patients' special needs, including language barriers, cognitive disabilities and psychosocial stressors are addressed through interdisciplinary intake, evaluation and assessment. Referrals for disposition and community support services reflect the patient’s unique needs and the team develops a plan of care that is the most appropriate for the patient.

Services are designed to assist patients in urgent or emergent crises. Medication refills, competency evaluations or evaluations for legal and disability claims will be referred to outpatient providers.

Services include:

Diagnostic psychiatric evaluations for the presence of a mental illness.
Assessment and reassessment.
If necessary, admission to inpatient facility.
Crisis intervention related to a psychiatric illness.
Linkage and referral to ongoing mental health services.
Referrals may be given for medical, dental, legal, social, or substance abuse services.
Ambulatory detoxification services are provided by referral only in conjunction with enrollment in an intensive treatment program.

Emergency Services at the University of Maryland Medical Center:

This page was last updated on: August 13, 2008.

For patient inquiries, call 1-800-492-5538 or click here to make an appointment.