South Carolina’s Department of Mental Health developed a new community crisis response program to address the lack of alternatives to emergency rooms and jail for people experiencing mental health crises in areas outside Charleston. The Community Crisis Response & Intervention program, modeled on a successful Charleston program, aims to provide nighttime emergency psychiatric intervention across the state.
According to Amanda Gilchrist, the program’s director, the model centers on accessibility. “We will have a 1-800 number statewide where a family member, law enforcement, a patient or EMS can call for help with someone in psychiatric crisis,” Gilchrist explained. “Then the call will be triaged by a clinician on the phone and a determination will be made if an onsite response is needed.” If an onsite response is determined necessary, a team of two master’s level clinicians will respond within 60 minutes along with law enforcement. The team will assess the patient to determine the appropriate level of care.
Deborah Blalock, deputy director of the Department of Mental Health and director of community mental health services, emphasized that the program offers alternatives to traditional emergency responses. “We don’t want people to go to the ER if they don’t need ER level of care, and it’s not fair for it to always be law enforcement,” Blalock said. “Some people need 911. Some people do go to jail and some go to the hospital. But some are diverted. Crisis stabilization gives you one more option.” Follow-up care will be provided for two weeks after the initial crisis response to connect patients with needed resources.
The program requires community partnerships with probate judges and law enforcement before launching in each region. The state Department of Health and Human Services allocated $3.6 million annually to fund the program, as it saves money for hospitals and taxpayers by reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and jail admissions while generating little revenue. The Charleston program, which served as the model, received an average of 1.5 calls per day. The program is particularly important in rural areas where the nearest hospital may be more than an hour away and emergency room staff lack specialized psychiatric training.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2018/03/09/new-mental-health-crisis-response-program-planned-south-carolina-upstate/403578002/