A Better Way to Serve Those with a Behavioral Health Crisis

Back in November 2020, the Greater Baltimore Regional Integrated Crisis System (GBRICS) partnership was designed to help people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The partnership was created, among many things, to strengthen the crisis response system across the greater Baltimore area and to minimize the need for people to call 911 to be brought to hospital Emergency Departments. Recently, GBRICS started serving as a regional hotline. 

Over the last two years, our region has been planning for this transition. No one really knows what the call volume will be, but it is good to now have the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number available to those who need it. It will provide greater access to 24/7 confidential services. It will not replace the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – but in fact strengthen and expand it. 

This week I have asked Adam Conway, Senior Director of Population Health at Greater Baltimore Health Alliance, to give us a breakdown of the GBRICS partnership, our involvement in the initiative and more details on the first-ever 3-digit dialing code for suicide prevention and mental health crises.

Can you elaborate on GBRICS and GBMC’s involvement in it? 
GBMC has been involved in this effort since the fall of 2019, as the Baltimore County Health Department and representatives from area hospitals were having discussions about the need to address patients experiencing behavioral health crises. The partnership will invest $45 million over five years to transform behavioral health crisis response services in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County and Howard County. GBRICS will expand the capacity of mobile crisis teams and community-based providers to reduce police interaction and overreliance on emergency departments.

Why is a regional partnership important when addressing behavioral health crises?
Maryland’s Regional Partnership Catalyst Program awarded funding for GBRICS to all seventeen hospitals in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County and Carroll County. This regional approach is critical for success, as the Emergency Department (ED) of each hospital has been acting as a primary location for people in crisis. Patients often return to the ED even though the ED is not equipped to deal with mental health on-going treatment. But in the absence of other sites of care, patients and their families have no other choice. 

As of July 16, 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Can you discuss the importance of the move to the first-ever 3-digit dialing code for suicide prevention and mental health crises and how will it help those who are seeking assistance?
The sheer volume of calls to 988 as it transitioned speaks for itself. According to the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, total volume increased by 45 percent and 988 Lifeline counselors answered 23,000 more calls, texts, and chats than they had the week before transition. This clearly shows that there is a need for an easy-to-remember resource for those dealing with mental health crisis.

When someone calls for help, who provides the mental health services?
The services are currently being provided by local agencies and organizations, and GBRICS will both increase the service capacity and improve the coordination among service providers to reduce wait times. By calling the 988 hotline, a person in crisis is automatically routed to the first available call center agent, who will either provide a brief intervention over the phone or dispatch a mobile crisis team.

Why is this happening now?
Emergency Departments are frequently overwhelmed by behavioral health patients in crisis. GBRICS was designed to help this, and now it can take advantage of the launch of 988. The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act was passed in 2020, and in July of 2020, the FCC issued the final order designating 988 as the new Lifeline and Veterans Crisis Line number, requiring all U.S. telecommunication providers to activate 988 for all subscribers by July 16, 2022. 

Thank you, Adam, for taking the time to explain GBRICS and our involvement and for all the great work you and your team are doing!