At The Ready

Photo courtesy of Ozarks Healthcare

Ozarks Healthcare Crisis Services Provide Critical Mental Health Support

Mental health continues to be an essential part of overall wellness for people of all ages. Thankfully, these conversations are becoming more open and proactive than ever before. For those living within Ozarks Healthcare’s seven-county service area, help goes far beyond awareness. The health system offers comprehensive mental health resources and facilities that rival those of much larger systems.

Summer Freeman, Ozarks Healthcare’s crisis services manager and director of behavioral health, explained that the health system takes a multi-pronged approach to supporting individuals in crisis. “Our program is built around what we call a ‘crisis continuum of care,’” Freeman said. “It’s a system designed to meet individuals where they are—from the moment they call for help to the point of stabilization and beyond.”

The first step is providing someone to call. Individuals can reach trained professionals through the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or by using Ozarks Healthcare’s local crisis hotline number. Team members are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year.

The second step is providing someone to respond. Those who call the hotline can speak directly with a trained individual who can help de-escalate the situation. If additional assistance is needed, Ozarks Healthcare’s mobile crisis unit can be dispatched anywhere within the service area. Whether the person is at home, in a public space, or in jail, the team meets them where they are.

Steps three and four focus on providing a safe place for stabilization and ongoing care. In Ozarks Healthcare’s system, that means utilizing the Crisis Stabilization Center. Individuals may be brought to the center by the response team or may walk in on their own thanks to the health system’s “no wrong door” policy.

Each step in the continuum of care works together to ensure individuals in crisis receive the help they need, no matter the severity of the situation. “One thing that really sets our program apart is how inclusive it is,” Freeman said. “Our hotline is open to anyone—and we recognize that a crisis can look different for everyone.”

People are encouraged to call for any reason that feels like a crisis to them—not just thoughts of self-harm or violence. It could be the loss of a loved one, a stressful life event, or a setback like failing a test or losing a job. Ozarks Healthcare’s philosophy is that a crisis is defined by the person experiencing it, not by someone else.

Beyond offering care and de-escalation, the program helps connect individuals to the most appropriate level of support. One of the department’s goals is to divert individuals from jails or emergency rooms when those settings aren’t the right fit. If a person in crisis can be medically cleared, the team works to ensure they are taken somewhere that focuses specifically on mental health.

By providing these alternative routes, Ozarks Healthcare is helping lift the stigma surrounding mental healthcare. “The collaboration between law enforcement, EMS, our emergency department, and behavioral health staff gets stronger every day,” Freeman said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about making sure the people we serve get the right care at the right time.”

To learn more about Ozarks Healthcare Behavioral Health and crisis services, visit www.ozarkshealthcare.com/services/behavioral-health/.