More on the virtual mental health response program coming to Nevada

Some law enforcement agencies in Nevada are testing a virtual response program for mental health emergencies. KUNR’s Jose Davila IV sat down with news reporter Lucretia Cunningham to learn more.

José Dávila IV: Nevada legislators recently approved the allocation of grant funds to bring the Virtual Crisis Care program to 11 law enforcement agencies in the state. What is this program? And where does the funding for this come from?

Lucretia Cunningham: Yes, so the program equips law enforcement agencies with tablets, and they will use them to provide 24/7 access to behavioral health professionals via telehealth. This comes from a rural health care program that funds projects to provide health care to people who sometimes, due to their location, may have difficulty accessing it.

The nearly $4 million grant comes from a philanthropy called the Helmsley Charitable Trust to launch the program over three years. After that, the state committed to funding through the Department of Health and Human Services in what they say is a cost-neutral program. They calculate the cost saved per No transporting a person in crisis from a scene will allow the program to pay for itself.

Dávila: How were the law enforcement agencies chosen to pilot the program?

Cunningham: These are agencies that have volunteered to participate and have applied to be part of this pilot program. Seven counties participate, mostly rural, some located hours away from the nearest mental health services.

Here is Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee telling how he will help them. The closest metropolitan area to Lincoln County is more than 150 miles away in Las Vegas.

(SOUNDBITE FROM LINCOLN COUNTY SHERIFF KERRY LEE): The mental health calls that we’re responding to are getting higher and higher. We’re dealing with more and more in our jail, and these people don’t belong in jail.

Lee says this will really take the burden off officers in the field who are really taking on more than they’re trained for.

Dávila: How does this make law enforcement more effective?

Cunningham: Not only does this allow law enforcement officers to avoid triaging mental health patients in the field, but it also helps them avoid over-policing what really is a medical emergency. Gets the person in crisis to the appropriate provider without having to transport them to a hospital or jail.

Sheriff Kerry Lee also talks about how the tracking services provided with this program will decrease police callbacks.

(SOUNDBITE FROM LEE): If we put them in jail or put them on legal hold, none of that matters unless we have a follow-up. I think that’s one big thing that we’ve been missing over the years, someone to keep track of these people. If we don’t follow up, guess what? Next week, we’ll be dealing with them again. Or they get released from jail, so guess what? A week later, they’re back in jail and it’s a revolving door.

Elko Police Chief Ty Trouten also talks about the program as another tool in his agency’s toolbox. While Elko is a larger city than Lincoln County, it does not have the mental health resources of a metropolitan area like Reno, which is more than 280 miles away.

Davila: This program was originally piloted in South Dakota; What was the success rate there?

That’s how it is! The program began in 18 South Dakota counties in 2020 and then expanded in 2021. The state’s Unified Court System tracked results over the years and consistently report an 80% diversion rate. That’s 80% of the mental health calls they respond to are diverted from involuntary hospitalization or jail.

Dávila: How is this program going for people who don’t speak English?

Cunningham: So behavioral health services are provided by a third-party telehealth provider called Avel eCare. They provide the initial assessment and follow-up resources for the person in crisis. They also have interpretation services available for about 200 languages.

This conversation was broadcast on KUNR FM on Friday, July 15.

The photo included in this story is licensed under Flickr Creative Commons.