Mental Health Crisis Center coming to Coeur d'Alene
<p>The Behavioral Health Crisis Center opened Dec. 12, 2014. The facility is open 24/7 and has helped patients in about 240 crisis episodes since opening according to Crisis Center Coordinator Brenda Price. Statistically the center is being used 60 percent by men and 40 percent by women and the average stay is 8.4 hours. The center also provides resources to help direct those in need to the appropriate organizations.</p>
<p>Registered Nurse Shannon Barnes has been with The Behavioral Health Crisis Center since it opened in December. A nurse is available 24/7 to help evaluate clients. The center provides immediate care for those in crisis, but also provides resources for those needing help beyond the maximum 24-hour stay. The center has helped clients ranging in age from 18-80.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho's second Mental Health Crisis Center will be built in Coeur d'Alene, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare confirmed Monday.
The Idaho Legislature appropriated $1.7 million for a Mental Health Crisis Center in North Idaho earlier this year, and limited its location to regional Health Districts 1 or 2.
Mental Health Crisis Centers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. They provide an environment to de-escalate mental health patients or substance abusers who are in crisis. It is an outpatient service that would take the pressure off emergency rooms, courts and jails, according to Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene.
Ross Edmunds, administrator for the Division of Behavioral Health, said the decision was made after the Region 2 Mental Health Board sent a letter to the mental health board in Coeur d'Alene and his office saying it supported locating the center in Region 1.
"Based on that, we have made the decision that it is going to Coeur d'Alene," Edmunds said, adding the state will rely on a coalition of medical stakeholders to decide on the exact location of the facility.
Malek said he's ecstatic to hear that Coeur d'Alene was selected. Malek helped pass the appropriation for the past two years, and another crisis center is expected to be funded next year.
Last year, Coeur d'Alene scored the highest need for the first center, but a political decision was made to build it in Idaho Falls instead because many Kootenai County legislators wouldn't support the funding.
This year only three legislators voted against it: Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene; Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Post Falls; and Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens.
"It is pretty exciting that we got it this time," Malek said Monday. "This is going to save a lot of lives."
Malek said he believes the crisis center will be built on the Kootenai Health Campus. He said Kootenai Health has been getting the project ready for more than a year now.
"They seem to have everything greased and ready to go," Malek said. "They really have their stuff together."
Joan Simon, chief nursing officer at Kootenai Health issued a statement, saying: "We are pleased that the Legislature has approved additional funding this year to open a second crisis center located in Coeur d'Alene to serve Region 1. We're ready to begin moving this forward as a community project that includes not only Kootenai Health, Heritage Health and Panhandle Health District, but others in the community as well."
Edmunds said the coalition of stakeholders - which includes Panhandle Health District, Kootenai Health, Heritage Health, Kootenai County commissioners and others - really pulled together to get the project going.
"You have a group of highly organized people that put this together," he said. "And I think they collectively want to see it run by Kootenai Health."
Edmunds said once the state gets the contracting buttoned up, construction should begin right away.
While the $1.7 million won't be available until July 1, which is the beginning of fiscal year 2016, Edmunds said his agency still has some startup funding that was appropriated last year that can be used to get started right away.
Edmunds said the Idaho Falls facility had to wait until July 1 last year to get started on its crisis center, but it was still up and running by mid-December.
"I would suspect that Kootenai Health (and the others) are looking at a similar timeline," he said, adding they may even move the timeline up a little sooner. "We want to get that rolling because we know there is a need for it up there."