St. Luke's Hospital – Mental Health Triage Center

Overview

Concerned about a growing number of individuals entering emergency departments (EDs), jail and detox centers in acute mental health crisis, a consortium of local agencies is proposing a “triage center” in Duluth as a first stop for people in mental health crisis. Such a triage center allows patients to get a more individualized assessment and a plan of care from people who are trained in mental health.

The unified effort now includes all the key players in the behavioral health continuum of care: St. Luke’s Hospital and its competitor Essentia Health, as well as community mental health providers, St. Louis and Carlton County Human Services, St. Louis County Attorney’s office and Public Defenders, State Representatives, the Duluth Mayor, Duluth City Council, St. Louis County Commissioners, homeless outreach and housing advocacy, local health initiative groups, Mental Health Specialty Court and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. This group envisions a triage center that would be an always-open, centrally located, stand-alone facility, in which patients might remain for up to three days while a treatment plan and/or proper referral was determined. No one would be refused admission.

Impact

In 2015, the two Duluth hospitals calculated that the cost to care for the top 200 utilizers of both emergency and inpatient behavioral health services was a staggering $37.1 million in 2015 alone. The consortium expects that the following outcomes will result from implementing the triage center:

• Decrease jail and ED utilization for behavioral health care
• Ease accessibility of receiving care
• Offer early and immediate intervention to mitigate potential crisis
• Provide collaborative and coordinated planning
• Fill identified programming gaps in the regional behavioral health system

With an estimated 500,000 Minnesota residents having a mental illness and only about 48 percent receiving treatment, it is clear that the current process is not providing the best outcomes for patients or the community. The consortium aims to change the system to stop criminalizing the mentally ill and begin making appropriate and quality care accessible to all when they need it the most.

Lessons Learned

According to Erin Metzger, clinic manager for outpatient health at St. Luke’s, “The mental health system throughout the United States is either non-existent or so badly broken that it cannot meet the needs of the residents. The key to success for our region is that we have approached it as a community problem and the solution is community led. One organization is not at fault for perpetuating problems, nor can one organization fix the problem. If we work together to coordinate and solve problems at each point or service provider along the continuum, there will be a stronger network with better outcomes for the community as a whole.” The Duluth initiative is modeled after the Community Triage Center in Las Vegas, which has had a successful relationship with Westcare and other local hospitals.

Future Goals

The next step is to obtain funding from the state to drive the regional initiative forward. The group has been lobbying the state legislature in support of two funding bills. Once funding is approved, the community collaborative will gather more information on the perceived needs of community members and behavioral health providers. The regional partnership has made a commitment to support a better-funded, more accessible and more effective behavioral health system through this initiative, as well as through the Cities Thrive program.

Contact: Erin Metzger
Clinic Manager, Outpatient Mental Health
Telephone: 218-249-7010
Email: erin.metzger@slhduluth.com