Joliet Fire Department presents countywide model for crisis care; officials cite access, transport and cost barriers

Will County Public Health and Safety Committee members heard a detailed presentation on a Joliet Fire Department program that pairs crisis‑trained paramedics with an outpatient clinical network intended to reduce repeat mental‑health 911 calls and connect people to definitive care.

John Cook, deputy chief of human services for the Joliet Fire Department, and John Lukancic, director of the Office of Emergency and Disaster Management for the City of Joliet, described a program launched in July 2022 that focuses on three barriers Cook and Lukancic identified: access, transportation and cost. The program trains paramedics in “crisis first aid” to stabilize people in the field and then refers them to a network of clinicians — including telehealth services — and an office in Joliet provided by Silver Cross Hospital at 1051 Essington Road.

“We figured out... access, transportation, and cost,”…