- In Pennsylvania, Delaware County To Open “A 24-7 Crisis Center For People Experiencing A Mental Or Behavioral Health Emergency.” For The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sarah Gantz reports on the new facility that county officials expect will improve mental health care outcomes for patients in the county as it is “designed for people who are experiencing a mental or behavioral health emergency and need immediate help that often is not available at general hospitals” or jails. The center will also “manage a mobile crisis unit to respond to 911 emergencies” which “will be able to respond to 911 calls at homes, schools, and other locations where first responders believe someone is experiencing a mental health emergency” to reduce the burden on law enforcement and other first responders who frequently handle these kinds of calls for service.
The center, staffed by trained and certified “psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers who are specially trained to work with mental health patients” will also include “expanded pediatric services and a stabilization unit that can reduce the number of patients who must be transferred to an inpatient psychiatric facility.” The center is expected to open early next year, with the mobile crisis team launching next month. - In Oregon, Klamath County Opens Its First Crisis Stabilization Center. For The Herald and News, Molly O’Brien reports on the grand opening of the county’s new combination crisis stabilization center and residential health facility. Called Willow Place, the facility offers “people in immediate need a place to decompress and regroup for up to 24 hours, helping reduce the intake numbers at the county corrections facility and local emergency room.” The trained staff at the facility provide “wrap-around services for people experiencing serious mental illnesses that cause major disruptions in day-to-day functioning… [including] everything from medication and case management to securing housing and ongoing access to mental health care providers.”
The facility accepts walk-in patients and drop-offs from first responders around the county, like paramedics, fire, and police officers. Bobby Bergstrom, a case manager at the facility, explained to the newspaper that law enforcement are champions of the center because even in “cases in which a criminal offense” has taken place, police officers will bring a person to the center instead of a jail when it’s clear that the offense “was committed due to the person’s mental state.” Bergstrom said that police will “cut them a citation [instead]” and admit them at the facility, because officers know that once the patient is secure at the center, “they calm down… and there’s always a case manager here that can work with them… it’s better for them, and we help stabilize them,” so the person gets the mental health care they needed and the officers can get back on the streets faster.
- In Ohio, Lorain County Opens Doors To New “24-Hour Crisis Center.” For The Morning Journal, Larissa Beriswill reports on the new $19 million 30,000-square-foot facility for people “facing a mental health or addiction crisis… [that] ensures individuals receive up to 23 hours of stabilization… who might be otherwise taken to an emergency room or jail.” The “state-of-the-art” facility, “the first of its kind in the county,” separates care into two floors—“the first floor center [holds] beds for those needing assistance while facing a mental health crisis [and the] second floor will support those in an addiction crisis with support like detoxing.” The center will provide treatment “during mental health and addiction crises 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” News5 in Cleveland recently took a tour of the new facility – take a look inside below. Their excellent full segment is worth watching here:
Related: In California, Santa Cruz is opening a “first-of-its-kind youth crisis center… to help youth battling mental health issues… with an average stay of less than 24 hours,” Jacquelyn Quinones reports for KSBW. Sandra Hughes, with Santa Cruz Health Department, explained to the news station: “This center is going to help relieve emergency services, so no longer will children need to go to emergency rooms or get law enforcement involved. Instead, we’re going to serve as a reliable resource for these emergency services.”