|
|
Thursday, May 15, 2008
|
|
CRISIS LINE GOES MOBILE Teams will be ready to respond to cries for help in a new way Senior Reporter People experiencing anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide have traditionally had four options after regular business hours - gut it out or call the Crisis Line, Emergency Room or 911.
But a new option - mobile mental health services for crisis situations, which starts Monday - aims to give people in a mental health crisis an alternative that puts them in touch with trained mental health professionals at a time when they may need them the most.
Mark Bublitz, who is heading a team for mobile crisis outreach services at Northern Pines Mental Health Center, described it as a step forward in providing mental health crisis services after hours.
Statistically, Bublitz said 25 percent of the population is dealing with some sort of mental health problem.
|
|
|
|
Pat Ross (left), statistics analyst, worked with Mary Marana, executive director of Crisis Line and Referral Service, on the implementation of the upcoming collaborative with Northern Pines Mental Health Center for a mobile mental health crisis team that can respond to emergencies. Brainerd Dispatch/ Steve Kohls
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
|
|
|
|
|
Bublitz, former executive director at Northern Pines, is back with the organization to direct the new project to bring mental health crisis services to people throughout a six-county central Minnesota region, including Crow Wing County.
Northern Pines received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services Children and Families and the Region Five Plus Adult Mental Health Initiative to provide crisis services for children and families and adults starting this month.
To do that Northern Pines looked to create partnerships with area law enforcement, emergency medical providers and a recognizable presence in crisis situations - the Crisis Line and Referral Service.
Crisis Line volunteers took additional training recently for the mobile mental health services. While law enforcement and medical facilities will have direct access to the mobile mental health crisis team, the public access will be through the Crisis Line.
"The Crisis Line has been doing that very well for a number of years," Bublitz said, adding the collaboration will expand what the Crisis Line already offers.
Mary Marana, executive director of the Crisis Line and Referral Service, said volunteers welcomed the opportunity to be involved and recently went through additional training for the project.
Meetings with law enforcement officials from area cities and counties and with area medical centers have been ongoing. The service will work as emergency rooms or law enforcement encounter someone in a mental health crisis and contact the mobile crisis team.
Help awaits
The Crisis Line and Referral Service offers assistance 24-hours a day at 828-HELP - 828-4357 - or (800) 462-5525.
The Crisis Line has about 55 trained volunteers and offers training about every other month for people who want to get involved.
|
The goal is to de-escalate the situation.
Experienced team members, who work in pairs, will travel to the individual in crisis. One team member will be a licensed mental health professional and the other a trained mental health practitioner.
An assessment will determine what level of care is needed immediately or as a follow-up. The mobile team will connect the individual to those services - whether that is an appointment the next day or inpatient care. An area psychiatrist also will be available should the team need those services, which include medication. And Northern Pines will provide next day therapy if needed.
Bublitz said the mobile team provides an opportunity for mental health professionals interested in being part of the project. A pool of people for the teams is being developed throughout the six-county area.
The mental health teams aren't designed to deal with substance abuse or chemical dependency. The situations teams expect may include stressed individuals with mental health issues, which can lead to family violence. Or people may be in a situation where they have stopped taking needed medications and are in deteriorating mental health as a result.
Bublitz said credit for the mobile mental health services needs to be shared with Region Five Plus Adult Mental Health Initiative, made up of representatives from the six participating counties - Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena - that have been working for years to find a way to help people get mental health services after regular business hours.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
