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Mobile Crisis Response Team Responds to over 260 calls in Year One

One year ago Santa Fe County partnered with Presbyterian Medical Services to launch a Mobile Crisis Team. Funded through a $350,000 contract, the program initiated a hot line that dispatches therapists and caseworkers to work with first responders to assist people experiencing a mental health crisis in the field. The program was funded upon recommendation from the Santa Fe County Health Policy and Planning Commission (HPPC) to reduce Santa Fe County suicide rates as well as to proactively prevent the escalation of mental health crisis when dealing with law enforcement. The program also provides follow up services by linking individuals with community based outpatient resources for long term stabilization.
In the first year of service, the Mobile Crisis Team was dispatched 266 times, with about 75% of calls coming from first responders including police, sheriff’s deputies and paramedics. Counselors made 421 follow ups and linkages to outpatient behavioral health services and 102 individuals were diverted from the emergency room into services. None of the individuals served, resulted in a suicide.

“PMS is proud to have been chosen to operate this innovative program which now provides on-site mental health and substance abuse intervention partnered with first responders in order to help those in crisis throughout our community,” says clinical director of Mobile Crisis Response Team Mark Boschelli.
The Santa Fe County Community Services Department is in the process of increasing funding to Presbyterian Medical Services for a second year of the project.

“We believe the Mobile Crisis Response Team has played a crucial role in ensuring the safety of both our residents and law enforcement,” says Board of County Commissioners Chairman Miguel Chavez, who chaired a community based behavioral health summit in May 2016. The County currently provides over $1.5 million dollars annually to support community based treatment options for individuals experiencing behavioral health difficulties.

According to the Santa Fe County Community Health Profile about 2,500 adult residents have a serious mental illness. The purpose of the Mobile Crisis Response Team is to do the following:

• Provide immediate aid to people having a behavioral health crisis;
• Stabilize persons as quickly as possible;
• Assess need and link to appropriate community based services;
• Provide training to law enforcement and EMS on how to work with people in crisis;
• Lessen use of the hospital emergency room for these type of cases; and
• Reduce the number of suicides in Santa Fe County

For more information on the Mobile Crisis Response Team please contact Rachel O’Connor, Director, Santa Fe County Community Services Department at 992-9842 and /or Mark Boschelli, Presbyterian Medical Services at 660-0503.