Susanna Lewis, director of community relations and the urgent assessment program at Silver Hill, told the New Canaan Health and Human Services Commission that the program continues to provide rapid behavioral‑health assessments and follow‑up for local residents.

The program averages 12 new cases a month for the current program year, Lewis said, and has handled 308 total cases since it opened in July 2022. New Canaan is allocated roughly 16 slots per month (Weston contributes about four). Lewis said about 85 percent of program slots were used by New Canaan residents and that 64 percent of patients are age 26 or younger.

Lewis described two operational changes implemented this program year: moving assessments from the hospital's admissions team into outpatient services and adding an aftercare coordinator. "We moved assessment to outpatient services," Lewis said, describing the change as intended to free clinicians from admissions duties and to strengthen the program's handoffs and follow‑up.

Those staffing and workflow changes accompany a structured follow‑up protocol: a one‑week check to confirm referrals, a three‑week check to confirm an appointment was made/attended, and a patient‑experience survey sent one week after that. Lewis said response rates to the patient survey and measures of successful referrals have improved since the changes.

Program acuity and pathways: Lewis said about 14 program cases identified some degree of suicidal ideation. Roughly 12 percent of cases have required referral for inpatient care; the majority—about 82 percent—have been routed to outpatient services, sometimes with intensive outpatient treatment. Schools remain the largest single referral source at about 30 percent; community referrals (peer‑to‑peer, other residents) now constitute about 25 percent. Lewis said Silver Hill aims to offer an initial appointment within 48 hours of inquiry; the observed average time for people actually coming in has been about three days.

Lewis said the program added a limited urgent‑access component for school‑identified situations after school staff flagged cases that might otherwise go to an emergency department. She emphasized that the program does not replace emergency care: Silver Hill does not admit children 12 and under and will refer to an ED when an assessment indicates that is necessary.

Insurance and access: Lewis said about 60 percent of referred patients are linked to insurance‑based providers; of those, roughly 18 percent use Husky (Connecticut's Medicaid program). Lewis and Commission members discussed that insurance coverage, reimbursement rates and provider shortages remain a barrier for timely ongoing care; Silver Hill staff said the program helps by providing a warm‑handoff and ongoing assistance while families arrange outpatient care.

Cost and funding: Lewis said the program's per‑slot cost has fallen as insurance reimbursement and partner contributions increased. She reported a revised per‑slot cost of approximately $40,000 per year (about $800 per week for one weekly slot over a year), down from an earlier figure of $50,000. Funding currently combines contributions from the town, the Community Foundation, Silver Hill subsidies and partner municipalities (Weston and a verbally committed out‑of‑town partner). Lewis said the program is viable at current scale when partners fill the five evaluation days each week and that Silver Hill will seek additional partners to expand capacity.

Why it matters: Commission members said quick access to assessment can reduce traumatic emergency‑department stays and boarding for children and young adults and that the program's ability to divert non‑inpatient cases from EDs improves both patient experience and system efficiency. Commission member Tom Ferguson said resilience and upstream prevention work should complement urgent assessment to reduce downstream demand.

Commission reaction: Jen Ielson, director of health for the town, thanked Silver Hill for sharing data and asked that the program's charts and age breakdowns be distributed to local emergency departments and agencies. Several commissioners praised the program's responsiveness and encouraged broader community outreach and education about the service.

The Commission and Silver Hill staff also discussed next steps, including continued outreach to increase program awareness (a community presentation of survey results was scheduled), potential town budget support for the coming year, and parallel statewide advocacy on insurance reimbursement and parity to improve long‑term access to outpatient mental‑health care.

Ending: Commissioners concluded their discussion by thanking Silver Hill staff and noting a forthcoming community presentation of the program's survey results and data.