Cedar Rapids Psychological Well being Heart opens State Information

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – After years of planning, Linn County’s new mental health access center is just weeks away from admitting patients.

The $ 3.5 million center, which Director Erin Foster found went from idea to reality in six years, held a small ribbon cutting ceremony on March 5 for employees only. The center at 501 13th St. NW. However, it will not be open to the public yet.

“We want to make an incremental opening to bring the services up,” Foster told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “We can’t cut ties here with patients, so we’ll be admitting patients about a week later.”

Foster said it was more than likely the center will start with patients who are having behavioral or mental health crises. Once the center is fully open, it will be available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Anyone who has a psychological crisis or is looking for help with substance abuse can go through the main entrance and meet with Foundation 2 employees in one of the nine triage rooms.

“Triage is really fundamentally vital and you can get to what got someone that day,” said Foster. “The room is not trying to look clinical. It should feel cozy because people want to feel comfortable. “

In addition to Foundation 2, the Area Substance Abuse Council, AbbeHealth, and the Penn Center are the other agencies that will occupy the center. Foster will be the only county clerk working there.

Additionally, the center will have a telehealth office – an idea born out of the COVID-19 pandemic – and a sobering room.

For overnight or long-term patients, the center has a living room and an outdoor area as well as a kitchen. The access center has a contract with Horizons Meals on Wheels, which delivers groceries every day.

The center will also be a law enforcement alternative to prison or an emergency room for people in crisis.

When law enforcement officers consult a potential patient, they do so through a separate garage – a way to maintain patient confidentiality.

“Law enforcement is the largest referral to access centers across the country,” said Foster.

Law enforcement agencies must be admitted into the building by the access center staff and go to a separate room from a patient.

“You won’t be charged if you come here,” said Foster. “You are not in law enforcement custody if you come here.”

Foster said there had also been talks that ambulances could bring patients to the center.

“Ambulances are only paid for when they take someone to a hospital,” said Foster. “So that has to change for the billing process as well. Ambulances won’t come here right now. “

There will be other obstacles to the center once it is open, Foster said. In Iowa, mental health funding falls under the Iowa Department of Human Services, while substance abuse resources come under the Iowa Department of Public Health.

According to Foster, the purpose of access centers is to bring mental health and substance abuse services under one roof.

While tracking a local center, Foster and others spoke to staff from several similar centers around the country, including San Antonio, Boulder, and Kansas City.

Johnson County opened its access center earlier this month – the GuideLink Center in Iowa City.

The big difference between centers in these other states and the new centers in Iowa? Iowa access centers do not receive government funding.

“All of them receive government funding,” said Foster. “And that sets us apart and brings additional challenges with it.”

Without government funding, counties in each of Iowa’s 14 mental health regions collect property taxes to support mental health, disability services, and the centers.

The East Central region includes counties of Linn, Johnson, Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Iowa, and Jones.

Last year, the East Central regional board voted to support the opening of the access centers in Linn and Johnson counties and increase the regional property tax by 3 cents to 34 cents per $ 1,000 of taxable property for fiscal year 2121. That increase adds up to nearly $ 1.3 million to cover the centers’ first year of operating costs. The levy is divided among the nine districts based on the population.

The Linn County Center received $ 600,000 in operations from the area, and the county itself invested $ 660,000 in operations.

“The state must recognize that resources must be pooled so that regions can jointly finance these services,” said Foster.

Foster said another problem the center will see is billing. The center accepts patients with or without insurance.

“However, if a patient receives more than one service here, billing problems can arise as some insurance companies do not allow patients to receive more than one service per day,” said Foster. “If we don’t change the statement, some people will be rejected by the insurance. It will be a nightmare when people get reimbursed. “

Despite the added challenges, Foster said the centers are needed.

“It’s almost like running a marathon and running the last mile,” she said that central Linn County was almost ready to open up. “Because the end result will be amazing.”