Emergency rooms and psychiatric facilities are becoming the front line of America’s mental health crisis. Acuity solves severe shortages with AI.
At Tanner Health in Villa Rica, Georgia, NORA, the AI-driven behavioral health assistant from Valor portfolio company Acuity Behavioral Health, is helping their emergency teams:
• Standardize psychiatric acuity in minutes, not hours
• Optimize staffing in real time for high-complexity behavioral health cases
• Reduce ER bottlenecks caused by psychiatric patients staying 3× longer than non-psychiatric patients
• Relieve clinician stress in one of healthcare’s most volatile environments
Acuity is headquartered in Atlanta. In our home state, Georgia, there are ~190 hospitals, most with emergency departments. 15–20% of emergency room patients present with psychiatric needs
• The state (and our nation) face a severe shortage of behavioral health clinicians, pushing patients into ERs by default. ER overcrowding and diversion can cost millions in lost revenue per hospital per year
Nora rapidly analyzes patient data and generates acuity classifications and staffing recommendations in real time, reducing hours-to-days of manual chart review and subjective triage effort — a critical improvement when psychiatric patients historically remain in EDs three times longer than other patients, contributing to workflow bottlenecks and capacity strain.
With healthcare workforce pressures — including thousands of statewide healthcare openings and projected growth needs for clinicians — AI-enabled real-time staffing suggestions help emergency facilities deploy registered nurses, emergency medicine physicians, physician assistants, and allied staff more effectively. Georgia alone faces nearly 40,000 healthcare workforce openings, with demand rising across roles that intersect with ED and behavioral health care delivery. Acuity’s AI isn’t replacing clinicians — it’s giving them time, clarity, and data when it matters most, helping Georgia providers care for our growing population.
Refer health systems pressured by staffing shortages to CEO Jim Szyperski, at jim@acuitybh.com.
