Adult and Child Health Opens South Side Mental Health Crisis Center

In the midst of the crisis, a beacon of hope has opened on the south side of Indianapolis.

People suffering from a mental health or behavioral emergency often have nowhere to go. Desperate loved ones rush to the hospital, waiting for hours in the emergency room just to see a doctor. Other times, they have to call the police to help.

Neither solves the problem effectively and often postpones the problem for another day.

These will no longer be the only options for area residents. Adult and Children’s Health opened its newly created crisis center to the community on Wednesday, offering shelter, resources and a path to recovery for people suffering from a serious mental health crisis.

“We had individuals with whom we worked 22, 23 times in a month. Now, we have a place where we can bring that individual, get them medication, connect them with the resources they need,” said Jim Engmark, a crisis intervention deputy for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. This will help us break the stigma that we all know.”

Inside the facility north of the Johnson County line, people can find immediate psychiatric care and crisis intervention – with services ranging from crisis therapy to referrals and connections to peer support care. The center’s crisis stabilization program offers adults experiencing a mental crisis a safe, comfortable, and monitored care environment.

“It’s really one of the first available, so we’re excited to offer that service,” said Dr. Christine Negendank, chief medical officer for Adult and Children’s Health. “A lot of times, (law enforcement) doesn’t want to take someone to the hospital, they don’t want to take them to jail, but they don’t have a safe place to go. Now, they can bring them in here and actually treat them, take care of them and then take care of them further.”

On Wednesday morning, local health officials, law enforcement officers, adult and children’s staff and other supporters gathered at the newly established crisis center to celebrate its opening.

They toured the entry rooms and the “living room” — a spacious, light-filled area surrounded by reclining chairs where people entering the facility can decompress.

The day is a monumental day for mental and behavioral health care in the region, supporters said.

“For an individual in crisis, the center will represent a lifeline, a place where they can find help and a journey to recovery. For families, it will provide peace of mind knowing their loved ones have access to care from dedicated professionals who are ready to care for their loved ones,” said Julie Bingham, deputy director of safety for behavioral health at City of Indianapolis Office of Public Health.

Getting to this point has been a long challenge, with years of work behind it.

In recent years, Indiana health officials have focused on implementing community behavioral health center services certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a federal agency focused on advancing behavioral health in the United States. . This model of care places community crisis centers in an important role by ensuring that individuals have timely access to services when urgent needs arise.

In this effort, Adult and Child Health was selected by the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions as one of eight Indiana community mental health centers to serve as a pilot site.

Adult & Child has been a leading provider of behavioral health services in central Indiana since it was founded in 1949. The organization offers a wide range of services, from primary care to case management to therapeutic services to foster care to outreach. homeless, with offices in the region, including Franklin, Whiteland and the South Side.

With its crisis services, Adult & Health has aligned itself with guidelines for creating a crisis continuum to provide different aspects of care. Their 24.7 mental health support line gives people in crisis someone to talk to. Mobile crisis teams, which can respond to people in Johnson and Marion counties, provide someone to respond, connecting people to the right resources.

Now, the crisis center gives people a safe place to go.

“The crisis center will be a great asset, not only to our team, but to law enforcement in general in the communities,” Engmark said.

The Indianapolis South Side Crisis Center is funded through a $500,000 Vitality Grant received from Mental Health America of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis.

Creating a center like this has the ability to change lives, not only for people struggling with mental illness, but for the people around them, said Julie Hayden, executive director of Mental Health America Indianapolis.

“I am the daughter of someone with a serious mental illness, the niece and the granddaughter of someone with a serious mental illness. If they were able to have a space like that, it would have completely changed the trajectory of their lives, our lives, everything we had growing up,” she said.

People who arrive will receive individualized support and services from a peer recovery specialist, a master’s level therapist and an advanced practice registered nurse who can prescribe medications if needed. Patients will then have access to a range of adult and children’s services, including follow-up care – making sure the person is cared for after leaving hospital.

Organizers are taking a “living room” approach to the crisis center.

“Once an individual enters crisis care here at our center, they meet face-to-face with a member of our therapeutic treatment team who will assess the nature of the crisis, assess safety and develop an immediate plan treatment.” said Negendank.

Services are available to walk-ins, those brought in by family or friends, and those referred by health care providers, mobile crisis teams, and/or law enforcement officers, who are often the first on the scene when an incident occurs. a mental health crisis.

“Normally, we take a person to the emergency room for an emergency stop. But if they don’t qualify for that, usually in law enforcement, we have nowhere to take them. We’re going to have to give them information and hope they follow it,” Engmark said. “Maybe those people haven’t taken (the medication), or their medication isn’t working. If we can get them to the center of seizures and get them working with people, we can get their medication and get them the help they need.”

The crisis center is now open from 2am to 10pm Thursday to Monday, with the last referral accepted at 8.30pm. To be admitted to the center, people must be 18 years of age or older, medically stable and have a blood alcohol content of 0.29 or below.

They must also have the ability to receive safe care in a voluntary treatment setting.

Since the beginning of the year, Adult & Child has treated a limited number of individuals at the crisis center in preparation for its opening to the wider community. The experience has been enlightening, Negendank said.

“We’ve really come to understand the critical importance of having a team of mental health individuals available to help someone in crisis, especially our fellow specialists, who can connect with them in a way that makes them feel safe , supported and understood,” she said. “We have been able to divert most of the individuals who have come to our crisis center away from emergency room care and connect them to resources in our community.”

AT A GLANCE

Adult and Child Health Crisis Center

What: A crisis stabilization program to provide adults experiencing a mental crisis with a safe, comfortable, supervised care environment and access to a range of mental health, addictions and primary care services, including a prescription behavioral health in the country.

Where: 8320 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis

When: 2-10pm Thursday to Monday; The last referral is 20:30

Eligibility Criteria: Individuals must be 18 years of age or older, medically stable, have a blood alcohol content of 0.029 or below, have the ability to safely receive care in a voluntary treatment setting, have the ability to carry out activities of daily living independently and must have their own carer, or have a designated carer available upon arrival.

How: The center is being funded through a $500,000 vitality grant received from Indiana Mental Health America.

Information: adultandchild.org