The Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Region's Mental Health Crisis Response Team has begun using telehealth technology to shorten their response time, according to The Daily Nonpareil.
The Mental Health Crisis Response Team, which consists of therapists and social workers, works to assist law enforcement officers who report individuals involved in a mental health crisis. The program's goal is to de-escalate the situation to avoid unnecessary incarcerations and hospitalizations, according to The Daily Nonpareil.
Here's how the telehealth program works.
- After receiving a call from a law enforcement officer, a member of the Mental Health Crisis Response Team travels to the scene to conduct an assessment. Following this consultation, the therapist will determine what type of care the subject needs, which they recommend to the law enforcement officer.
- The Mental Health Crisis Response Team aims to have a member on site for assessment within a half hour; however, it can sometimes take up to an hour for the therapist to arrive. To address this issue, the on-call therapist can connect with the subject via webcam.
- Mandy Standley, lead therapist of the Mental Health Crisis Response Team, acknowledged that conducting assessments through telehealth can be a challenge. "It's a bit different, because you have to build that connection, since you're not really there," she told The Daily Nonpareil. "You have to build that rapport in an unusual setting."
- Following the incident, a member of the Mental Health Crisis Response Team will follow up with the subject twice: within 24 hours and after 30 days. These check-ins are meant to ensure the subject is getting the appropriate care.
- The Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Region is made up of nine counties. Five counties have implemented the system since last summer, when Pottawattamie County became the first county to begin using the system.