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JRAC hears hospital/ER behavioral-health coordination updates; follow-up meeting set
Summary
Board member Shelby Stanley said DCH and Lake Behavioral Health are coordinating ER behavioral-health screenings, using telehealth for some inpatient substance-use-with-mental-health assessments; a three-month follow-up meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 15 to review improvements and DCH will review BAC thresholds for medical clearance to jail.
Shelby Stanley told the Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council on May 13 that she met with Jenna Bedwell and Janell Berry of DCH to discuss the hospital’s ER and Behavioral Health unit, which is staffed under contract by Lake Behavioral Health.
Shelby said some inpatient screening for co-occurring substance use and mental-health conditions is being done via telehealth and that Lake Behavioral Health staff are not on site during screening. She reported there is now better clarity about expectations between the ER and law enforcement about what information should be documented before a person is transferred or an officer leaves the scene; if a responding officer must depart, the officer should leave a name and contact information so hospital or Lake Behavioral Health staff can follow up.
Shelby said DCH plans to review internal policies on blood-alcohol-concentration thresholds to ensure staff have a medical-clearance standard for incarceration. The council tentatively scheduled a three-month follow-up meeting for July 15 to assess improvements discussed in the initial meeting with DCH.
No formal action was taken during the JRAC meeting; the item was presented as an operational update and a follow-up was planned.
