Adult & Child Health opens mental health crisis center on the southside

In the depths of crisis, a beacon of hope has opened on the southside of Indianapolis.

People suffering from a mental or behavioral health emergency often have no place to go. Desperate loved ones take them 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 effectively solves the problem, and often pushes the problem off for another day.

No longer will these be the only options for area residents. Adult & Child Health opened its newly created crisis center to the community Wednesday, offering refuge, resources and road to recovery for people suffering a serious mental health crisis.

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

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

“It’s really one of the first ones available, so we’re excited to offer that service,” said Dr. Christine Negendank, chief medical officer for Adult & Child Health. “Oftentimes, (law enforcement) doesn’t want to take someone to a 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 here and actually treat them, get them the care and then get them follow-up care.”

On Wednesday morning, local health officials, law enforcement officers, Adult & Child staff and other supporters gathered into the newly created crisis center to celebrate its opening.

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

The day is a monumental one 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 towards recovery. For families, it will offer peace of mind, knowing their loved ones have access to care from dedicated professionals who are willing to take care of their loved ones,” said Julie Bingham, safety deputy director of behavioral health in the city of Indianapolis’ Office of Public Health.

Reaching this point has been a long-running 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 Service Administration, a federal agency focused on advancing behavioral health in the United States. This model of care places crisis centers in the community in a prominent role assuring individuals have timely access to services when urgent needs arise.

In that effort, Adult & Child Health was chosen 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 provides a wide array of services, from primary care to case management to therapeutic foster care services to homeless outreach, with offices in the region, including Franklin, Whiteland and the southside.

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

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

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

The southside Indianapolis crisis center has been 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 just for people struggling with mental illness, but for the people surrounding 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 somebody with serious mental illness. If they had the opportunity to have 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 masters-level therapist and an advanced practice registered nurse, who can provide prescriptions for medications if needed. Patients will then have access to the scope of Adult & Child’s services, including after care — ensuring the person is taken care of even after discharge.

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

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

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

“Normally, we take a person to the emergency room for emergency detention. But if they don’t qualify for that, usually in law enforcement, we don’t have someplace to take them. We’d have to give them information and hope they follow up with it,” Engmark said. “Maybe those people are off their (medications), or their meds aren’t working. If we can get them to the crisis center and get them working with people, we can get them on their medication and get them the help they need.”

The crisis center is now open 2 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Monday, with the last referral accepted at 8:30. To be admitted to the center, people must be 18 years old or older, medically stable and have a blood alcohol content of .29 or below.

They must also have the ability to safely receive care in a voluntary treatment environment.

Since earlier in the year, Adult & Child have been treating a limited amount of individuals in the crisis center in preparation for opening it to the wider community. The experience has been enlightening, Negendank said.

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

AT A GLANCE

Adult & Child Health Crisis Center

What: A crisis stabilization program to provide adults experiencing a mental crisis with a safe, comfortable, monitored care environment, and access to an array of mental health, addictions, and primary care services, including an on-site behavioral health prescriber.

Where: 8320 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis

When: 2-10 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays; last referral is 8:30 p.m.

Admission criteria: Individuals must be 18 years old or older, medically stable, have a blood alcohol content of .029 or below, have the ability to safely receive care in a voluntary treatment environment, have the ability to perform activities of daily living independently and must their own guardian, or have an appointed guardian available upon arrival.

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

Information: adultandchild.org