MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. PSYCHIATRIC URGENT CARE CENTER

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Martin Luther King Jr. Mental Health Urgent Care Center (MLK UCC), implemented in May 2014, provides intensive crisis services and immediate care for up to 24 hours for individuals age 13 and over who would otherwise be taken to emergency rooms or incarcerated. The UCC is Lanterman-Petris-Short designated and operates 24/7 with separate areas for adolescents and a medication walk-in clinic. The UCC features extensive collaboration among the Departments of Health Services (DHS), Public Health (DPH) and Mental Health (DMH) and a contracted provider, Exodus Foundation, in support of a health neighborhood. DPH Community Assessment Screening Center (CASC) provider provides screening, assessment, intervention, and case management for co-occurring substance use disorders and referral to the CASC network of care and DHS provides a nurse practitioner to evaluate for medical care. The UCC is designed to reduce unnecessary inpatient hospitalization or incarceration, and promote care in voluntary, recovery oriented treatment settings through stabilization and linkage to ongoing community services and supports. Outcomes include decreased acute symptoms, prevention of hospitalization or incarceration, establishment/re-connection with community mental health treatment, linkage with substance use treatment and housing, and increased client community tenure.