Frontier Behavioral Health expands mobile dispatch to 24/7 as crisis referrals rise

Frontier Behavioral Health told the Spokane County Behavioral Health Advisory Board that its mobile dispatch unit (MDU) now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and handles warm transfers from the 988 crisis line and the regional crisis line to coordinate in‑person crisis responses. Jan Downing, chief operating officer at Frontier Behavioral Health, and Mike Sullivan, program administrator for the mobile dispatch unit, presented the program and recent data.

The mobile dispatch unit triages calls that first come to 988 or the regional crisis line. “If during the conversation that person is requesting an outreach or the person at 988 identifies that…this person is in a behavioral health crisis and they’re in need of an in‑person response, they then will complete a warm transfer with that person over to us,” Mike Sullivan said. The MDU’s crisis triage specialist stays on the line with the caller and 988 staff, documents the conversation, identifies location and safety concerns, and assigns the most appropriate crisis team (the adult MCAT, the child, youth and family mobile crisis team, or the designated crisis responders/DCRs).

The program began a soft launch in December 2024 and expanded to full 24/7 coverage in May 2025. Frontier reported monthly episode counts rising from about 334 in mid‑December to 858 in July and said it averages roughly 25–26 episodes per day. Sullivan said about 83% of referrals are assigned to a crisis team, roughly 4% are referred back to outpatient programs when the person is already enrolled and during business hours, and about 13% are not assigned because the person’s location is unknown or a less‑restrictive option was chosen. Program distribution reported by Frontier was approximately 46% to the adult MCAT program, 22% to DCRs, 15% to the child/youth/family team and 4% to outpatient programs.

Downing emphasized the program’s alignment with 988 principles. “I think the exciting thing about our mobile dispatch unit is that it really aligns with the principles of 988: having someone they can call, someone who can respond and then having a place to go,” she said. Frontier said the MDU now uses the same phone system as the 988/regional crisis line, which will improve transfer data (call counts, durations and dispositions). Frontier also reported the unit was fully staffed, with the last vacancies filled the week of the presentation.

Frontier said it is pursuing state endorsement as a mobile rapid response crisis team; that endorsement carries time‑of‑response expectations depending on whether a service area is categorized as urban, suburban or rural. Ashley (BHASO staff) told the board that Frontier was the only team in the regional service area to apply for endorsement and that the endorsement was expected to begin in July but has shifted toward an August timeline as the state finalizes requirements.

The BHASO noted an overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEN) update from the Washington State Department of Health: crisis providers were identified as first responders eligible for OEN supplies, and the region secured about 2,100 naloxone doses to carry on crisis teams for administration and distribution.

Discussion and next steps: Board members asked whether episodes are duplicated for the same people. Sullivan said unduplicated counts are not currently part of the numbers he presented but could be analyzed. BHASO staff said they expect the MDU’s integration with 988 and regional partners to improve triage and data sharing across providers. No new formal board action was taken during the presentation.