Lisa Willis Gidley, chief revenue officer of 4 C Health, described a full continuum of mental-health and substance-use services available at the provider’s Tipton clinic and a new wellness pilot with the Tipton County Sheriff’s Department during a Tip and Thrive podcast episode.

The Tipton clinic, at 1060 South Main Street, offers therapists five days a week, psychiatric evaluations and medication management, “skills trainers” who work in school classrooms and the community, peer specialists with lived experience, mobile crisis teams and access to inpatient and urgent-observation care. “If somebody were to call dispatch and there's a mental health concern for themselves or a family member, we are gonna get dispatched the same time as law enforcement does,” Willis Gidley said, describing the provider’s coordinated response with local law enforcement.

The program aims to reduce delays in care by accepting walk-ins and providing both face-to-face and virtual intake. “At the moment that you decide that you need that mental health support, we don't want you to wait,” Willis Gidley said. She added that the clinic begins registration on the same day a person arrives and connects them to an appropriate level of service, from brief therapy to more intensive supports.

Willis Gidley said 4 C Health also places skills trainers inside school corporations to help students manage mental-health issues so they can succeed academically, and employs peer specialists who have personal recovery experience to support clients in the community. The agency operates mobile crisis teams that can respond on-scene and coordinate with law enforcement to focus each responder on their primary role: “we want law enforcement to be able to focus on their law enforcement duties, and then we want to focus on that mental health or substance use aspect,” she said.

The new Tipton County Sheriff’s Department pilot is an officer-wellness employee-assistance program that provides five no-cost sessions to department staff; Willis Gidley said the department initiated the partnership to expand wellness resources for employees. “They get 5 sessions, and may that might be enough,” she said, adding that staff who need ongoing care can transition to regular services through the agency.

Eric, the Tip and Thrive host who identified himself as mayor of Tipton City, said the program aligns with his administration’s focus on staff wellness. “When I took office last year, one of the first initiatives I launched was to have one-on-one conversations with all my staff members, employees of the city of Tipton,” he said, noting concern for first responders who can experience traumatic incidents on the job.

Willis Gidley said the sheriff’s pilot is intended as a starting point and that 4 C Health hopes to extend wellness offerings to other first responders. She also described free community trainings the agency provides, including mental-health first aid and QPR suicide-prevention training, which are intended to equip local residents and frontline workers in rural areas to recognize signs of distress and refer people to services.

Willis Gidley said 4 C Health marks its 50th anniversary this year and has expanded since its founding in 1975; she noted the agency now has about 500 employees and a four-day, 32-hour workweek for staff. For residents seeking services, Willis Gidley said an online mental-health assessment and other resources are available at 4chealthin.org and that the clinic offers a “chat now” feature for questions.

The podcast exchange focused on access and local partnerships rather than new legislation or funding commitments. The provider described existing services, a local pilot with the sheriff’s department, and training resources for residents and community workers. For more information or to start services, Willis Gidley directed listeners to 4 C Health’s website and the Tipton clinic at 1060 South Main Street.