Erin Harlow-Parker
January 2018
Erin
Harlow-Parker
,
MS, APRN, PMSCNS-BC
Pediatrics
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Atlanta
,
GA
United States
Erin became a member of the Georgia Department of Education's suicide prevention task force and began to collaborate with the GBI and other state agencies to address the increase in suicides in our state.
Erin Harlow Parker is an advanced practice nurse who truly practices at the top of her license with a passion and commitment to improving the lives of children and families with psychiatric disorders. These children and families are at serious risk of harm; Erin has worked tirelessly to improve patient safety and quality of care for this at-risk population in our hospitals and across the state of Georgia. Erin has developed a training program for our ED staff to equip them to better care for our ever-growing Behavioral Health patient population. Staff learned how to de-escalate situations with patients and families, communicate effectively and therapeutically, recognize early warning signs of behavioral health issues, and safely administer psychotropic meds. Staff can now provide more compassionate and effective care for these patients, facilitating a safe and therapeutic stay in our ED.
Erin saw a need to provide more timely health assessments and improve continuity of care for our Behavioral Health patients in the EDs. These patients are sometimes in the EDs for many hours, awaiting placement in an appropriate facility. She partnered with the ED and Social Work to develop a new program staffed with Licensed Clinical Social Workers. This new program results in quicker placements of these patients and better communication between disciplines and facilities, resulting in much-improved continuity of care for these patients. Not confining her passion and expertise for these Behavioral Health patients to our three hospitals, Erin has taken the initiative to meet with state representatives to advocate for improving care for these children statewide. She is also a member of the Georgia Department of Education's suicide prevention task force. Erin is an incredibly high-performing member of the Children's team. She is passionately committed to patient safety and improved care for behavioral health patients in our facilities and across our state.
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Erin specializes in the care of the family, especially behavioral health (BH) patients. Erin performs hospital and Emergency Department (ED) consultations to assess, diagnose, and treat individuals or families with psychiatric disorders and identify associated risk factors. Erin collaborated with the Emergency Service Line education team to develop a training program for approximately 400 ED staff to address the increasing volume of BH patients. Training objectives included de-escalation techniques, therapeutic communication, safe administration guidelines for psychotropic medications, and early warning signs for BH diagnoses.
Post-presentation feedback noted that staff was equipped with tools that help in their care for this high-risk population. Erin's presentation and passion for this population inspired front-line staff to take a deeper interest in how they can better support BH patients and families. This has led to the development of a tri-hospital multidisciplinary ED BH Care Team dedicated to process improvement and quality initiatives for BH patients. Erin is a content expert, resource, and advocate for safe care for this team. She also plays an integral role in community advocacy and education. She presents at the Georgia school nurse forum. She also speaks at many community events about mental health stigma, suicide, and ways to receive help.
After Erin's lectures, young students approached her to voice their intent to harm themselves. It is this type of outreach that has spread a positive impact on the lives of children and teens in Georgia. In order to provide safe and effective patient care, Erin partnered with the ED and Social Work to develop an ED BH Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) program. Erin trained and developed the LCSW BH staff. Erin has since empowered LCSWs to train others as BH LCSWs. Erin has presented at many forums to gain resources for the expansion of this program, which facilitates timely mental health assessments in the emergency department as well as increased continuity of care.
Erin collaborated with Children's Information Technology team to develop an electronic assessment template in the EMR to streamline the transfer of care and communicate the plan of care for patients in the ED. Erin also partnered with the ED to develop a patient and family teaching sheet regarding the 1013 process (transport authorization for individuals deemed mentally ill) and what the family can expect during their stay.
Recently, Erin met with State Representatives to improve and streamline the care of Children's BH patients who also suffer from developmental disorders. These children are the hardest to place due to the lack of accepting facilities. She advocates for the Department of Behavioral Health and Development and the Georgia Crisis Access Line to re-evaluate the psychiatric facility acceptance process to get patients to the higher level of care they need more efficiently. In the last year, Erin became a member of the Georgia Department of Education's suicide prevention task force and began to collaborate with the GBI and other state agencies to address the increase in suicides in our state.
Erin saw a need to provide more timely health assessments and improve continuity of care for our Behavioral Health patients in the EDs. These patients are sometimes in the EDs for many hours, awaiting placement in an appropriate facility. She partnered with the ED and Social Work to develop a new program staffed with Licensed Clinical Social Workers. This new program results in quicker placements of these patients and better communication between disciplines and facilities, resulting in much-improved continuity of care for these patients. Not confining her passion and expertise for these Behavioral Health patients to our three hospitals, Erin has taken the initiative to meet with state representatives to advocate for improving care for these children statewide. She is also a member of the Georgia Department of Education's suicide prevention task force. Erin is an incredibly high-performing member of the Children's team. She is passionately committed to patient safety and improved care for behavioral health patients in our facilities and across our state.
***
Erin specializes in the care of the family, especially behavioral health (BH) patients. Erin performs hospital and Emergency Department (ED) consultations to assess, diagnose, and treat individuals or families with psychiatric disorders and identify associated risk factors. Erin collaborated with the Emergency Service Line education team to develop a training program for approximately 400 ED staff to address the increasing volume of BH patients. Training objectives included de-escalation techniques, therapeutic communication, safe administration guidelines for psychotropic medications, and early warning signs for BH diagnoses.
Post-presentation feedback noted that staff was equipped with tools that help in their care for this high-risk population. Erin's presentation and passion for this population inspired front-line staff to take a deeper interest in how they can better support BH patients and families. This has led to the development of a tri-hospital multidisciplinary ED BH Care Team dedicated to process improvement and quality initiatives for BH patients. Erin is a content expert, resource, and advocate for safe care for this team. She also plays an integral role in community advocacy and education. She presents at the Georgia school nurse forum. She also speaks at many community events about mental health stigma, suicide, and ways to receive help.
After Erin's lectures, young students approached her to voice their intent to harm themselves. It is this type of outreach that has spread a positive impact on the lives of children and teens in Georgia. In order to provide safe and effective patient care, Erin partnered with the ED and Social Work to develop an ED BH Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) program. Erin trained and developed the LCSW BH staff. Erin has since empowered LCSWs to train others as BH LCSWs. Erin has presented at many forums to gain resources for the expansion of this program, which facilitates timely mental health assessments in the emergency department as well as increased continuity of care.
Erin collaborated with Children's Information Technology team to develop an electronic assessment template in the EMR to streamline the transfer of care and communicate the plan of care for patients in the ED. Erin also partnered with the ED to develop a patient and family teaching sheet regarding the 1013 process (transport authorization for individuals deemed mentally ill) and what the family can expect during their stay.
Recently, Erin met with State Representatives to improve and streamline the care of Children's BH patients who also suffer from developmental disorders. These children are the hardest to place due to the lack of accepting facilities. She advocates for the Department of Behavioral Health and Development and the Georgia Crisis Access Line to re-evaluate the psychiatric facility acceptance process to get patients to the higher level of care they need more efficiently. In the last year, Erin became a member of the Georgia Department of Education's suicide prevention task force and began to collaborate with the GBI and other state agencies to address the increase in suicides in our state.