Introduction to Dzeel Clinical Healthcare

Today’s guest blog is from Kim Raynor, a colleague who has been working in the business side of mental health for many years. Kim currently works with Dzeel, a company which works to help hospitals cope with the growing number of mentally ill seeking care in ERs and hospitals across North Carolina.

Dzeel in the Navaho language means “heartfelt strength” and that is exactly what you will find with us. A healthcare supplemental staffing agency based in North Carolina, Dzeel is focused on responding to the most critical needs within healthcare. One of the most critical demands for our state is managing and providing good care for patients with mental illness and/or substance abuse. Since 2005, Dzeel took on a position of our business model to focus on this critical need.

There is a critical situation happening across North Carolina within the Emergency Departments (EDs) of hospitals. People with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders are ending up in our state’s Emergency Departments, where they often wait for hours or even days to receive appropriate care. The long wait times affect not only patients and their family members, but the law enforcement officers who wait with them, and the hospitals. EDs are overfilled with patients awaiting psychiatric assessments and or placement.

According to the N.C. Hospital Association, visits by mental health or substance abuse patients increased by 38 percent from 2008-2011. That compares with an overall 6 percent increase in ER trips. Once there, mental health patients often stay longer than other clients.

A 2012 emergency room study by the state’s hospital association showed that the average stay for behavioral patients has increased 65 percent since 2010, to almost 16 hours.

Experts say the longer waits, often resulting from the difficulty in finding a psychiatrist or more specialized care, increase the odds that a crisis will worsen, risking the safety of patients and hospital staffs alike.

Dzeel specializes in providing CNA’s and Nurses with a passion for care in assisting patients with mental illness/and or substance abuse. Our staff has the expertise and training to assist the ED team and hospital staff while providing a safe environment for patients during a crisis and until placement or discharge can occur.