Beaufort, S.C. – Beaufort Memorial Hospital has taken a significant step in improving access to critical mental health care with the opening of a new $1.9 million Evaluation and Assessment Unit attached to its Pratt Emergency Center. The expansion is designed to provide patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties with a safer, more therapeutic environment for care, enhancing outcomes for both patients and staff.
The unit adopts the nationally recognized EmPATH model (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing), a patient-centered approach that focuses on reducing stress, de-escalating crises, and shortening the time mental health patients spend in traditional ER settings. The EmPATH framework emphasizes therapeutic engagement over confinement, helping patients feel respected and supported while receiving focused psychiatric evaluation and treatment.
Construction of the unit began in February 2025 and was completed in December of the same year. The project was funded entirely through grants and philanthropic donations, demonstrating strong community and institutional support for mental health initiatives. The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) contributed $1.6 million, making Beaufort Memorial one of just 13 healthcare systems in the state to receive funding for an emergency department unit specifically dedicated to behavioral health crises. Additional contributions included $150,000 from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, $24,000 from Women in Philanthropy, $10,000 from the Coastal Community Foundation, and $100,000 in gifts from private donors…