What to Expect at the Emergency Room
When You Are at Check-In
- Explain what happened, why you are there, and what your youth needs.
- Provide basic information, including name, address and insurance.
- Have the following with you in the emergency room:
- All medications, or a list of medications your
youth is taking. - Your youth’s health history, including mental
health diagnosis, if there is one. - Names and phone number of your youth’s doctor, therapist, and other professionals that your youth
sees for their mental health or substance use concerns.
If you did not bring this information, ask someone to bring it, or text it, to you. It can help to keep this information in one place so you can grab it quickly if you need it in the future
- All medications, or a list of medications your
Emergency Room Workers Will:
- Medically stabilize and assess your youth. This could include taking blood, connecting machines and attaching an intravenous (I/V) line.
- Decide if there is immediate danger from suicidal thoughts or risk of harm to self or others.
- Make medically-informed plans for follow-up care.
Medical Health Assessment
Emergency room staff will complete an assessment that looks at three main areas:
- General medical assessment
- Blood pressure, temperature, and other basic checks.
- Overall physical health.
- Possible side effects from medications or other substances.
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For safety reasons, your youth may wait in a psychiatric hold room. These rooms are simple and may not have many items. Staff may ask your youth to change into a gown or scrubs, and socks. All Emergency Rooms have warmed blankets, you can ask for this, if necessary or helpful.
Mental Health Assessment
Health professionals will decide how urgent your child’s mental health needs are. One or more of the following may ask to speak with your child in a private room:
- Emergency Room Doctor
- Psychiatrist
- Psychiatric Nurse
- Mental Health Crisis Worker
- Suicide attempt circumstances
- What your youth did to harm themself.
- Past attempts.
- Whether there was a suicide note.
- What may have led up to the attempt, such as school, friends, or family stress.
- Overall mental state
- How your youth feels now, such as angry, sad, relieved, or overwhelmed.
Questions During the Assessment may Include:
- Why did you bring your youth to the emergency room today?
- Did anything different happen today or during the past week?
- Has your youth tried to harm themselves before?
- Does your youth have a history of unsafe behavior, such as cutting, overdose, or substance use?
- Are there events coming up that are causing your youth stress?
- Do you know what may have led to this crisis?
- Is there abuse or bullying, at school, at home, or somewhere else?
- How is your youth doing at school?
- Is there a family history of mental illness, addiction, or suicide?
- Were there treatments or medications that helped family members?
Suicide Risk Assessment
Emergency staff will assess your youth’s risk for suicide. This is more than asking if your youth feels suicidal right now. A youth may feel safer in the hospital but still be at risk later when stress returns at home or school.
The assessment will include:
- Reviewing current medications, including alcohol or drug use.
Planning follow-up care, including:
- Ability to care for themself.
- Need for peer support.
- Other community-based services.
- Planning what happens after emergency room visits.
- Such as going home or moving to another level of care.
You may hear about behaviors or concerns you did not know about. This can be shocking. Try to stay calm and focus on making sure the safety plan addresses these concerns. It is okay if your feelings take time. You can return to them when you are ready.
How to Advocate for You and Your Youth in the Moment
Be clear about why you are in the emergency room and what you want for your youth.
Ask questions about the safety plan and follow-up care. If the hospital wants to send your youth home and you do not believe you can keep them safe, trust your instincts and explain why.
Ask yourself:
- Is my youth at risk of harming themself or others?
- Will my youth be alone during the day or night?
If you do not believe your youth will be safe, say so.
Speaking up and helping your team understand your concerns is important. If you say you cannot take your youth home because of safety concerns, Child Protective Services (CPS) may be contacted. If this happens, do your best to stay calm.
CPS does not want to take custody of a child when there is someone who can safely care for them. You can ask CPS staff to help you work with the emergency room team to create a safety plan.
If you have concerns, contact the hospital patient advocate and the Oregon Health Authority ombudsperson as soon as possible (1-877-642-0450) – Message line only. You can also file a complaint that clearly explains your concerns.