Renown Health, in collaboration with the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, proudly announces the reopening of the Crisis Care Center at 480 Galletti Way in Sparks, located on the Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (former Dini Townsend) campus.
The center began welcoming patients today, Tuesday, Nov. 11, offering 24/7 short-term behavioral health crisis intervention and stabilization services for individuals in need of immediate care. The Crisis Care Center had been closed since April, when the HHS ARPA funds which helped support the Center, were terminated by the federal government.
“We are committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of our community and are deeply grateful to our local and state partners for stepping in to secure funding for the Crisis Care Center,” said Brian Erling, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Renown Health. “It is so important that people, and families, experiencing a mental health emergency have an environment where they are valued, and can receive the care and support they need. This is an important step towards improving access to behavioral health services and advancing the health of everyone across northern Nevada.”
Access to timely behavioral health services is an urgent issue across the state. Nevada consistently ranks among those with the highest prevalence of mental health needs and lowest access to care nationwide.
“Behavioral health and substance use challenges affect nearly every family in our state,” said Takesha Cooper, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for Renown Health and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. “The reopening of the Crisis Care Center represents a powerful public-private partnership between Renown Health and the State of Nevada to bridge gaps in mental health access by reducing unnecessary strain on emergency departments, supporting first responders, and providing a therapeutic environment for individuals in crisis. We are so thankful that our partners at the State of Nevada share that same vision and commitment to care.”
The Crisis Care Center is funded through Nevada’s 988 Crisis Response Fee, a 35-cent surcharge on all phone lines. These funds can only be used for crisis response services, ensuring a sustainable, state-based approach to behavioral healthcare. Nevada is one of the first states in the nation to employ this model, making it a leading example of how to fund community-based crisis stabilization centers.
“We at the Division of Public and Behavioral Health are excited to support the start-up costs for the Renown Crisis Care Center,” said Rachel Isherwood, Crisis Response Program Manager, Division of Public and Behavioral Health. “This facility will provide important and lifesaving care for northern Nevadans in crisis.”
This partnership also aligns with Nevada’s Sequential Intercept Model, designed to provide appropriate intervention and care for people with mental health or substance use disorders at every point of contact by preventing unnecessary arrests or incarceration.
The Crisis Care Center serves individuals 18 years and older who are referred by themselves, their loved ones, local community providers or transported by law enforcement or other first responders. Services include:
“For individuals who do not require emergency medical treatment, the Crisis Care Center offers a calmer, more therapeutic environment for stabilization and connection to ongoing behavioral health resources,” said Jimmy Lao, MSN, Director of Nursing, Emergency Services, Renown Health. “An emergency room is not the best place for someone experiencing a severe behavioral health crisis. The Crisis Care Center gives people another option — a peaceful place designed for healing, where staff can take the time to listen, stabilize and link each person to the appropriate level of care. At the Crisis Care Center, we can help people recover safely in the community, before a crisis becomes an emergency.”
The reopening of the Crisis Care Center marks an important step in Nevada’s crisis response model that focuses on:
Dr. Cooper adds,” Together, these services create a coordinated statewide network to help Nevadans in mental health or substance use crises receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time — with dignity, compassion and respect.”
The Crisis Care Center is not an emergency room. For 24/7 mental health support, call 988. For medical emergencies call 911 or go directly to the nearest emergency department.
Renown Health is a not-for-profit integrated academic health care network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe and northeast California. With a workforce of more than 8,000 employees, Renown has fostered a longstanding culture of excellence, determination and innovation. The organization comprises a trauma center, two acute care hospitals, a children’s hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a medical group and urgent care network, and the locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. To join the Renown Health team, visit renown.org/careers.
