My view just before sunset.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Griffin Health in Derby opens state's first EmPATH unit
DERBY - Griffin Health took a bold step forward in addressing the state’s growing demand for mental health crisis services by opening Connecticut’s first Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) Unit at Griffin Hospital.
Griffin cut the ribbon on the new 4,300 square-foot unit at a donor recognition and dedication celebration at the hospital on Oct. 8, adding to Griffin’s legacy of innovation in person-centered care.
“This unit makes a statement to patients and families that this hospital cares about them,” Griffin Health President and CEO Patrick Charmel said. “The healing environment in the EmPATH is equivalent to the exceptional comfort and care we provide in any of our inpatient units and, in fact, goes beyond. This is taking Griffin’s person-centered care to another level, and it tells a psychiatric patient that this organization understand them and their needs, and that we want to meet them.”
An EmPATH unit represents a new approach in behavioral healthcare, offering a calming therapeutic space for patients in emotional crisis instead of hospital emergency departments (EDs). With a shortage of behavioral health services statewide, individuals in emotional crisis are often brought to EDs by crisis centers, law enforcement, and well-meaning family members.
However, EDs are limited in their ability to provide the therapeutic care required, leaving many without the specialized support they urgently need.
Due to patient safety concerns, treatment of mental health crisis patients in an ED can seem cold and add to the stigma of the health condition, said Lindsay Slaybaugh MSN, RN NE-BC, director of Griffin Hospital's Emergency Department, as patients’ belongings and clothes are taken away and, due to a lack of treatment rooms, they are sometimes put into a bed in the hallway.
“It is an uncompassionate way to receive care when you are already at a low point in life,” Slaybaugh said. “This unit is very exciting because now we are giving patients a place that is full of warmth and color and empathy when they really need it. We can initiate group therapy and provide additional support that you can’t when the patient is in a bed in the hallway of the emergency department.
“We think this is a great thing for our patients, families and community. This is what Griffin does best. We get creative. We think outside the box and we put the patients first, giving them medical care from our hearts.”
Griffin’s EmPATH unit features a large, open common space with high ceilings, natural light, exterior views and soothing décor.
Staffed by psychiatrists, social workers, and trained nurses, the EmPATH Unit includes sensory rooms with patient-controlled lighting and music, which will act as a safe space to help regulate emotions, earphones to listen to music and make private phone calls, tables for socializing, a nourishment station for snacks, a shower room, and physician consultation and family rooms for visitors.
The Griffin EmPATH unit is one of more than 30 across the country. Conceived by Dr. Scott Zeller in Alameda County, California in the early 2010s, the first EmPATH opened in Kentucky in July 2024.
These pioneering units have reported significant success, routinely stabilizing 75% of patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies in less than 24 hours, reducing the need for hospitalization, and decreased crisis readmissions by 25%, all while eliminating many of the traumatic aspects of traditional emergency psychiatric care.
Once discharged, patients in the EmPATH unit are referred to outpatient psychiatry services. In preparation for the EmPATH unit, Griffin increased its capacity for intensive outpatient psychiatric programs with new locations in Shelton and Hamden, ensuring a comprehensive response to the growing mental health needs of the community.
“This EmPATH Unit will be truly transformational and it’s something that we think will serve as a model for other hospitals here in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast because this is the standard of care that psychiatric patients deserve and this is what they and their families want,” Charmel said.
This is a press release from Griffin Health.
Seymour Public Library to show 'Love At First Bite' Friday
SEYMOUR - "Love at First Bite" is our Friday Morning Movie for Adults on Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. The movie stars George Hamilton and Susan Saint James.
It is rated PG-13 and runs for 1 hour and 36 minutes.
The Library is at 46 Church St.
Ansonia updates milling, paving schedule
PAVING UPDATE: Due to the weather, the schedule has changed slightly.
Milling is beginning today (Wednesday), please view the schedule below. All streets have been posted for no parking and police have been ordered for traffic control.
Paving will start on Friday, 10/17, and will follow the same order as the milling schedule. Paving on Summer, Winter, and N. Cliff on Saturday to avoid any issues with Assumption School on N. Cliff St.
Wednesday 10/15 - Rufus St., Murray St., Fifth St.
Thursday, 10/16 - Summer St., Winter St., N. Cliff St.
Friday, 10/17 - Hill St., Adam St., Start Chester St.
Monday, 10/20 - Finish Chester St., Fitzpatrick Rd.
Tuesday, 10/21, - Farrel Dr.
Paving Schedule
Friday, 10/17 - Rufus St., Murray St., Fifth St.
Saturday, 10/18 - Summer St., Winter St., N. Cliff St.
Monday, 10/20 - Hill St., Adam St.
Tuesday, 10/21 - Chester St.
Wednesday, 10/22 - Fitpatrick Rd., Farrel Dr.
Shared from the City of Ansonia Facebook page.
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