Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Cook County board updates mobile‑crisis pilot, approves Brightwater after‑hours agreement
Loading...
Summary
The Cook County Public Health and Human Services Board approved a Brightwater Health purchase‑of‑service agreement and heard a detailed update on the county’s mobile crisis response pilot, including outreach, call routing (988 and a regional 844 line), staff shadowing and plans to explore provider‑of‑record options.
Cook County Public Health and Human Services Board members on Feb. 17 approved a purchase‑of‑service agreement with Brightwater Health to continue after‑hours and weekend mobile crisis coverage and clinical supervision while receiving an update on the county’s mobile crisis response pilot.
The agreement extension adds a written option for county staff to shadow Brightwater teams in higher‑volume settings so local staff can gain more experiential training, PHHS staff said. Grace, who led the staff presentation, told the board that “we added in a portion that allows for our staff to go to Brightwater and shadow their staff” to address low local call volume and build staff experience.
Sarah Eisenreich, the county’s mobile crisis response worker, described mobile crisis as a “24/7 response to and services to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis” and said the program exists to stabilize people in their homes or community settings and connect them to ongoing supports. She and other staff emphasized that state statute requires counties to ensure mobile crisis availability and that a county board must be the provider or contract with one.
Board members pressed staff on operational details. PHHS staff said all incoming calls are first handled by First Call for Help, which answers both the national 988 line and the county’s regional number, (844) 772‑4724; First Call for Help triages calls and transfers requests for in‑person mobile crisis as appropriate. Staff said Brightwater provides telehealth after‑hours coverage now and that the county is advertising the service with billboards, digital ads and two recent county mailers to increase awareness and call volume.
Staff characterized the program as a pilot and described next steps: continuing the Brightwater partnership for after‑hours and backup staffing, moving the program back under the county’s behavioral health team as internal supervision is restored, reviewing a University of Wisconsin‑Superior needs assessment that was completed under the start‑up grant, and researching options for an outside provider of record if partners (Brightwater, First Call for Help or community agencies) could carry the license in future.
Board members also discussed how consent limits responses in some crisis scenarios and how staff triage calls to determine whether law enforcement is required when someone poses an immediate danger. Sarah said county staff currently respond in person during business hours; Brightwater provides remote (phone/video) coverage at night and on weekends until local on‑call staffing increases.
The board voted unanimously to approve the Brightwater agreement. Staff said they will return to the board as the pilot evolves and will share data on outreach engagement and call volume collected through First Call for Help and ABHI routing.
What’s next: staff plan to set up shadowing for Sarah and the incoming behavioral health supervisor within weeks, continue outreach to raise public awareness of 988 and the regional 844 line, and review recommendations from the completed needs assessment as they consider longer‑term service arrangements.
