Laredo Public Health: 988 calls up 48.4% year over year; staff urge data sharing to support psychiatric annex request

A public-health administrator from Laredo Public Health told the committee that the city has seen a sharp increase in contacts to the 988 crisis line and that more granular local data are needed to support grant applications and a push for a psychiatric annex.

"We see a 48.4% increase," the community health administrator said when comparing January–June data year over year and described the 181-day study period as equivalent to about 8.1 calls per day. The presenter cited a study summarized in the American Public Health Association’s July issue and reported that the 988 lifeline is associated with an estimated 11 percent reduction in suicide deaths among adults and young people, noting that many states lack permanent funding for specialized 988 services.

The presenter asked partners and Integral Care for more micro-level metrics — ZIP code, presenting concern, age groups, disposition, repeat contacts and referral outcomes — and said the department had shared its report with three legislative members named in the session as "doctor Saccadimi, Richard Raymond, and McLaughlin." Committee members discussed modeled cost estimates for a proposed psychiatric annex (the presenter cited an estimated modeled community burden of roughly $5.18M to $7.97M and additional annual annex overhead in the transcript described as $6M–$10M) and urged attendees to contribute local data to strengthen the legislative case.

The administrator said the city is combining its community health needs assessment with a formal health assessment and that the procurement process for the external study will begin soon; staff asked professionals in the room to submit expertise and data via a QR code or by email to support the request for proposals.