'We Don’t Want People to Have to Jump Through Any Hoops'
Growing up in Vermont, Christina Reiss’s mother visited a crisis center when her mental illness grew too severe to manage at home. In between appointments with her psychiatrist, who staffed the center located at the former Adams School in Burlington, she had a peaceful place to go where she could get help and get back on medication if she needed it.
“Going there [to the crisis center] was often enough to turn around whatever difficult path she was on,” says Reiss, the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. “It was a lifesaver for our family to have her have a place like that to go.”
Judge Reiss’s memories of the crisis center and its value were top of mind when she began, several years ago, to discuss improving the mental health system in the Burlington area with other leaders from the community and University of Vermont Health Network. She felt strongly that many community members would benefit, as her mother had, from a dedicated space specifically designed to preemptively address mental health concerns.
Those conversations eventually led to the Mental Health Urgent Care, a new project developed by Howard Center, Pathways Vermont, University of Vermont Medical Center and Community Health Centers and the Vermont Department of Mental Health. All of the organizations have been involved with developing the program from the beginning and each is providing resources to support it. It’s a unique and innovative collaboration driven by the desire to address one of the community’s most pressing needs.
The Mental Health Urgent Care opened on October 28 at 1 South Prospect Street in Burlington. It provides guests who are 18 and older with mental health services, peer support and help with accessing follow-up services, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Crucially, the urgent care will be welcoming to those who have experienced trauma or are struggling with thoughts of suicide. That means no judgement and no stigma. (The program is intentionally calling individuals “guests” instead of patients or clients.) Additionally, a nurse will be onsite to treat basic physical health issues.
Learn More: Mental Health Urgent Care Hours and Location
“Because of our stretched resources and our workforce challenges across our community, in some ways a big new project feels like the last thing anyone has time for, but it has been such a feel-good thing to come together with our partners to talk about our values and our vision for the high-quality guest experience we’re going to offer at the Mental Health Urgent Care and what tangible action items we can all execute to put that in place and create an exceptional program,” says Charlotte McCorkel, LICSW, the Senior Director of Client Services at Howard Center.
A Safe Alternative to the Emergency Department
The aim is for Mental Health Urgent Care to be a therapeutic alternative to the emergency department (ED) at UVM Medical Center, where many individuals currently go when experiencing mental health distress because of a lack of other care options. The new urgent care is designed to help individuals access mental health care before it escalates into an emergency, but it also provides a place where people can go for care when they’re in extreme distress and would prefer not to visit the hospital.
“When we were thinking through this project, we wanted to build something that somebody could go to when they start to feel a crisis coming on, before they get to the point where they can't stand it any longer,” says Maureen Leahy, the administrative director of UVM Health Network’s psychiatry service. “We wanted to set up the urgent care so individuals in need are encouraged to come to us a week or so before they may feel they have to go to the ED.”
The ED isn’t always the ideal setting for someone experiencing acute mental health illness. It can be overstimulating, which can be triggering for someone in crisis. It’s also sometimes the case that people suffering from mental health conditions find hospitals anxiety provoking or intimidating. The Mental Health Urgent Care, with its emphasis on cultivating a calming, more informal environment, provides a different kind of atmosphere.
Easy-to-Access Mental Health Care
The project partners designed the Mental Health Urgent Care to be easily accessible to help members of the community get care before an emergency arises. What individuals will notice right away is the lack of barriers they may have encountered elsewhere. People don’t need a referral from a doctor or other provider or make an appointment beforehand. There are also no financial requirements. Being of an adult age is the only criteria.
“You can and should just walk right in,” Leahy says. “We don’t want people to have to jump through any hoops to access our services.” Community outreach efforts have been underway since the summer to spread the word about the Mental Health Urgent Care so locals – and the organizations that serve them – know this new resource is available.
Mark Redmond, the executive director of Spectrum Youth and Family Services, an organization that supports teenagers and young adults, said the Mental Health Urgent Care provides something that he and his teams have long been looking for.
“Sometimes at Spectrum we have no choice but to send someone to the emergency department because we’re not a mental health agency and we can’t guarantee their safety, but we know that the ED isn’t necessarily the ideal place for them,” he explains. “There hasn’t been another option until now.”
The launch of the Mental Health Urgent Care, he explained, is an encouraging sign and a welcome development. “I'm just really, really happy,” he says. “To me it's a step in the right direction, but we can’t take our eye off the ball and say we've solved this problem completely.”