Jac Crawford This is separate ...


but it’s also going to work very closely in collaboration with the


emergency department. It will function much like a psychiatric


emergency department. - Jac Crawford -


Director of Behavioral Health


“ ”


determining the next level of care at that point,” Crawford said. “We will be fo- cused solely on behavioral health.” Crawford said the emergency depart- ment is still a valued partner in this work; if a patient reports to the crisis stabilization center with a physical ailment or injury, treatment of that condition will take pre- cedence over mental healthcare. He said the new system represents a major step forward for the care of people needing help. “If they come to the crisis stabilization center and are psychotic or having hallu- cinations or are delusional, we can talk to them,” he said. “We work to deescalate their current crisis to a point where they’re not having an immediate panic attack, or we


Above: The new Crisis Stabilization Center will be located in Ozarks Healthcare's old neuroscience building. It will improve the speed of care patients in crisis receive, putting them in front of a behavioral health specialist from the moment they walk in.


can talk them out of their current crisis. And we have counselors there who can do short, individual therapy sessions if that’s needed. Finally, we will have a psychiatrist on call who can prescribe anti-anxiety med- ication, as appropriate.” The new center, which opens this fall, is completely voluntary for patients. It will initially operate during clinic hours with the goal of operating 24 hours a day in the future. Generally speaking, the center will serve patients 18 and over, al- though no one in a legitimate emergency will be turned away. The center is part of a wider effort by the State of Missouri to bring such amenities within easier reach of patients statewide.


“This program was rolled out by our


governor, Mike Parson, who used to be a highway patrol officer,” Crawford said. “He saw firsthand how law enforcement struggles with how to most appropriately help psychiatric patients. (Gov. Parson) has said he wants to see a facility like this in every one of the highway patrol dis- tricts in Missouri, and Ozarks Healthcare is the one for our district. “We’re taking, hopefully, the respon-


sibility of intervening with psychiatric conditions away from the law enforce- ment as soon as possible because that’s not their wheelhouse. The quicker we can intervene and the quicker we can as- sist the patient, the better.”


FALL/WINTER 2022 | INSIGHT | 37


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