Collaboration Builds Access to Community-Based, Walk-In Mental Health Services
Over the tenure of MHCP, members’ collective efforts have supported the redesign of the public/private behavioral health delivery system, including the work of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Services (BHS) psychiatric crisis system. As part of this redesign, partners have worked to create easier access to mental health care and expand crisis services in the community. This includes the establishment of the community-based BHS Access Clinics.
The BHS Access Clinics offer walk-in services for adults facing a mental health crisis and are strategically co-located at three Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) geographically dispersed across Milwaukee – Milwaukee Health Services, Inc., Outreach Community Health Centers, and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.
“The collaboration with FQHCs was critical to the success of these clinics,” said Dr. Ken Cole, Director of Outpatient Treatment Programs, BHS. “Our aim was to bring these crisis services to where people are, in trusted community-based settings, to not only make it easy to access care but also to offer a seamless connection to additional, long-term services people may need.”
The Access Clinics offer a variety of services, including mental health and substance use disorder assessments, medication evaluation, crisis counseling, peer support, and connection to ongoing care. The goal is to stabilize and support individuals until they can be established with continuing care. In some cases, this may be a referral to an FQHC mental health or substance use disorder program adjacent to the Access Clinic, or another service in the community.
Eligible patients include Milwaukee County residents 18 years or older, regardless of ability to pay. Crisis services at Access Clinics can last up to six months, with the average length of stay being about 51 days in 2024.
“Our community members can get the just-in-time crisis services in the moment they need them. And we can then easily integrate them into ongoing, comprehensive behavioral health, dental, and medical care at our clinics,” said Julia Harris Robinson, President/CEO, Outreach Community Health Centers. “This partnership is a win-win for everyone – most importantly, the patient and their families.”
From January to October 2024, nearly 1,700 unique individuals have been served at an Access Clinic, an increase from just over 1,200 served in 2023.
Additional information about BHS Access Clinic services and locations can be found here. Appointments are available same-day or by scheduled appointment.
Additional mental health access efforts supported by MHCP include the opening of the joint venture Mental Health Emergency Center, increasing access to outpatient services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), launching community and provider navigation efforts (HealthyMKE.com/well), and funding targeted efforts to improve access to youth services.