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Hamilton Center reports 4,216 patients served, expands crisis and school-based services in Vigo County
Summary
Hamilton Center gave an annual update to the Vigo County commissioners, reporting 4,216 patients served July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024, expanded mobile crisis response and school partnerships, and requested clarification on board appointments required by state law.
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. — Hamilton Center told the Vigo County commissioners it served 4,216 patients in the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, and highlighted expanded crisis services, school-based partnerships and workforce numbers in its annual report.
Emily Owens, chief of clinical outreach at Hamilton Center, presented the report and said the organization provided just over 19,000 clinical encounters during that period and that the average wait from initial inquiry to a scheduled appointment was about 17 days. “We did provide a little over 19,000 clinical encounters,” Owens said. “The average time, from the initial appointment to the time someone inquires about that is approximately 17 days.” She also noted Hamilton Center offers walk-in assessments and a mobile crisis unit that works with law enforcement.
Owens said Hamilton Center served 2,990 adults and 1,226 youth during the report year, and reported about 1,683 addiction-treatment services to adults and 13 youth addiction-treatment cases. She described partnerships that include Vocational Rehabilitation for supported employment referrals, a peer-support position at Union Hospital to ease ER transitions, and expanded school referrals through East Side Christian Academy and other Vigo County schools.
The center operates outpatient clinics, an opioid treatment program location and a transitional living unit on Oak Street described as an eight-bed, 90-day program for adults. Owens also said Hamilton Center operates a 16-bed inpatient unit and reported approximately $4.6 million in operating expenses for that inpatient unit and about $2 million in charity care during the report year. She said Hamilton Center employed 361 Vigo County residents at its Vigo County location.
During a question-and-answer exchange, commissioners asked about board appointments. Owens read a list of board members shown in the written report (including Andre Kummerow) and commissioners noted that House Enrolled Act 1454, signed last year, requires a member of the county fiscal body or a county commissioner to sit on a community mental health center board under Indiana Code 16-21-2. Commissioners said they would follow up to identify the county’s formal appointment and advised Hamilton Center staff they would coordinate via email.
On access, Owens said the center’s crisis-diversion services are available 24/7 for immediate needs and walk-in evaluations are available at clinic sites; routine appointments are typically scheduled within two weeks. “If they’re in immediate crisis, we see them right then and right then and there,” she said.
