For many professionals in the industry, the arrival of the mental health equivalent of the urgent care medical clinic in south central Pennsylvania is not a minute too soon.
The first 24-hour mental health walk-in clinic in the area will open on Wednesday at 1100 S. Cameron St. in Harrisburg, in a recently renovated Dauphin County building.
No matter their insurance coverage or financial situation, anyone presenting with mental health needs will be served by the Connections Emergency Behavioral Health Crisis Walk-in Center, a joint venture of the Dauphin and Cumberland/Perry County mental health agencies, for those ages 14 and up.
Police officers who have decided that immediate mental health treatment is preferable than, instance, a municipal lock-up or remaining on the streets have a distinct back door access reserved for them.
That’s sort of the idea.
Mental health is not a crime, as we all know. Do you hear me? Those who showed up for tours of the new center on Tuesday were questioned by Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick. People who are dealing with mental illness shouldn’t be left to fend for themselves on the streets, go to jail, or visit the emergency department.
Connections Health Solutions, an Arizona-based company that runs comparable facilities in Phoenix, Tuscon, Arizona, Kirkland, Washington, and Chantilly, Virginia, will run the new facility.
The company takes pride in its “no wrong doors” policy, which enables it to accept almost any patient, day or night. It built its clinic in Tuscon as part of the community’s response to the 2011 mass shooting outside a supermarket there that left six people dead and then-U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords critically injured.
According to the firm, it stabilizes the majority of its clients within its 24-hour treatment restriction before offering or connecting them to longer-term treatment programs, which means that very few of them ever wind up in jail or require hospitalization.
Though they are ready to meet the market where it is, Connections officials were unable to provide an estimate on Tuesday regarding the number of clients they anticipate serving in the Harrisburg area in the first year.
According to Kimberly Jones, the vice president for clinical operations at the Harrisburg center, “I think our walk-in at this facility might be the largest of all the facilities that we have, including Arizona,” and “I anticipate the need for this community to be high.”
On December 3, 2024, a tour of the new Connections Emergency Behavioral Health Crisis Walk-in Center included a visit to the calm room.
[email protected] Joe [email protected] Joe Hermitt
What s the promise?
The walk-in clinic is a welcome addition to the range of mental health treatment options, according to local first responders.
Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sharp increase in the demand for mental health services in recent years. People describe waiting months for a first consultation and for therapy and medication for conditions like depression in Harrisburg and throughout Pennsylvania.
That wait time could be reduced to hours by using the Connections walk-in center.
According to the police, they witness the need almost daily.
This Monday, Rob Martin, Susquehanna Township’s director of public safety, told PennLive that his agency meticulously documents service requests that involve mental health issues. There were 368 in 2023.
People with mental health issues have, in my opinion, much too frequently ended up behind bars over the years, and that is not where they belong, Martin added.
However, even if a person in crisis is just brought to the closest hospital emergency room, it may take hours or even days for the right staff to arrive and assess them. During this time, a dedicated staff member is required by law to keep an eye on them.
People who have urgent medical needs may have to wait outside the door for longer as a result.
According to Nathan Harig, assistant chief for administration at Cumberland Goodwill EMS in Carlisle, “We welcome any assistance we can get.”
Annie Strite, the Cumberland and Perry counties’ Mental Health/IDD administrator, was direct about the benefits she anticipates: This initiative will help reduce suicides in our community. Are you concerned about this? I care about it.
How it works
In reality, the Connections facility has three doors:
Sarah Lopez, vice president for implementation at Connections, stated, “In every case, we’re adding specialized behavioral health care to the continuum that looks a little different… at minute one where we’re able to stabilize the person and put a plan in place to keep them safe.”
On December 3, 2024, the new Connections Emergency Behavioral Health Crisis Walk-in Center’s patient observation area.
[email protected] Joe [email protected] Joe Hermitt
The Cumberland/Perry administrator, Strite, stated that prompt attention is essential.
“I believe that people frequently go to the emergency room and request a crisis meeting, and they wait based on what’s going on in the emergency room,” she added.
It gets worse if you’re already having trouble, feeling apprehensive, or feeling like something is really upsetting you when you get to the emergency room. And occasionally, people become so irate that they simply declare, “Okay, I have to go.” I’m unable to stay.
According to Strite, kids can be examined by a clinician as soon as they knock on the door, much like in urgent care, whenever we’re ill.
More serious cases will be admitted to the clinic’s spacious observation unit, where patients can remain for up to 24 hours while receiving treatment from a multidisciplinary team comprising social workers, psychiatrists, and drug misuse specialists.
Patients would then be transferred to the proper in-patient partner if it was found during that period that they need greater levels of treatment.
Up to 70% of Connections customers receive some degree of direct care at the facility, develop a follow-up plan, and are sent home the same day, according to Lopez’s analysis of results at its current centers.
How we got here
In September 2022, Cumberland and Dauphin counties received a $13.1 million Community Mental Health Services block grant for a collaborative project, which resulted in the Harrisburg center.
During the first two years of operation, the grant funds will be utilized to close revenue and expense gaps as Connections works to negotiate contracts for service reimbursement from managed care programs, private insurers, and Medicare/Medicaid.
Given the advantages of this kind of treatment in preventing costs, it is a calculated risk that those private insurers will support it.
We think that this is where a sustainable route lies. Since the majority of commercial insurers already conduct business with Connections in its other states, we think that county-based money shouldn’t be the only ones coming in to fund or augment what commercial insurers should be paying, said Matt Miller, vice president for growth at Connections.
Additionally, he said, “in the end, those insurers should see it as a cost savings because they’re not spending the dollars on an ER visit or possibly a long-term hospitalization that could have been provided here.”
According to Strite, a selection committee of elected leaders, medical professionals, and individuals with mental illness reviewed the proposals and unanimously chose Connections.
On December 3, 2024, a consultation room at the recently opened Connections Emergency Behavioral Health Crisis Walk-in Center.
[email protected] Joe [email protected] Joe Hermitt
Miller stated that Pennsylvania’s mental health treatment legislation and regulations coincide with the company’s operations, which is why the company was interested in introducing its model there.
The Connections local team has already spent months on the ground here establishing relationships with the community stakeholders who may be sending patients to and receiving patients from the Harrisburg center, even though the institution opens for adult services on December 11. (On January 13, the center will begin accepting youth clients.)
The clinic can serve up to 16 people and 8 children simultaneously when it is fully functioning.
According to Strite, it won’t address every issue with the provision of mental health care. According to the local authorities, there is still a significant scarcity of short-term crisis stabilization beds, which can accommodate patients for a maximum of 14 days.
Nonetheless, the walk-in clinic is a first for the area.
And that is what everyone is anticipating.
This methodology has helped people stay well in their communities by reducing the need for in-patient psychiatric care in other regions of the country. Trying to help people be well in their communities is, in all honesty, what it’s all about, Strite said.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!