THE HARRIS CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND IDD
Closing
the technology gap in healthcare | Wayne Young | The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
to a call with a mental health component to it . Our crisis clinicians provide support , clinical assessment and recommendations on appropriate call resolution .”
To do this the Harris Center equipped law enforcement partners with tablets , and launched the program as a year-long pilot in 2018 . “ We ' ve had some really tremendous outcomes ” Young says . Law enforcement partners have noted decreased utilization of emergency rooms , improved decision making , reduced time on calls , and identification of alternative resources as just of a few of the benefits of the program . “ When officers are dispatched they may or may not have any idea that there ’ s a mental health component influencing what ' s happening with that 911 call . With a tablet they literally have to click one or two icons to connect to our crisis clinicians via a telehealth system .”
This enables clinicians to carry out a crisis assessment in real time with the individual involved , helping both them and law enforcement decide what the next step is , and whether it ’ s necessary to send further community based support such as a mobile crisis team , or if a hospital visit is required .
CORE has been tremendously successful – less than 1 % of the individuals involved in response calls in the pilot ended up going to jail . “ We were able to find alternative responses , and what initially looked like a 911 police call turned into an opportunity to provide the person with support and services .”
116 April 2021