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MDHHS Implements New Assessment Tool In Psychiatric Hospitals
Russ Survance
Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:34:04 EST
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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has introduced a new risk assessment tool at its state psychiatric hospitals, leading to significant drops in patient and staff injuries. The "Dynamic Appraisal of Situational Aggression" (DASA) is now used daily by hospital staff to identify patients at risk of aggressive behavior. Since its rollout, patient injuries have fallen by 47%, and serious staff injuries linked to patient aggression are down 27%.
The DASA process evaluates patients' irritability, impulsivity, willingness to follow directions, and other behaviors, with direct care staff rating risk levels each day. The hospitals then use these ratings to personalize intervention strategies and prevent aggressive incidents. Officials say the tool is also helping with staff retention: hospital turnover rates have dropped 43% since February 2024.
Developed in Australia, the DASA and its protocol are now in use at all four of the state's inpatient psychiatric hospitals, including Caro, Kalamazoo, Walter Reuther, and the Center for Forensic Psychiatry. Michigan is the first state to adopt this method system-wide, and early results have drawn praise from behavioral health experts, who cite Michigan as a leading example of best practices for patient and staff safety.?
