West Plains, MO. – The Ozarks Healthcare Behavioral Health Center’s (BHC) Crisis Intervention Team, part of the Mid-South Missouri Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Council, was recently recognized with an “established” status. The Mid-South CIT Council represents Ozark, Douglas, Wright, and Texas counties from Ozarks Healthcare’s service area.
The Missouri Crisis Intervention Team (MO CIT) program is a partnership of law enforcement and other first responders, behavioral health providers, hospitals, courts, individuals with lived experience, and community partners who are dedicated to implementing the Missouri Model of CIT.
“We are proud of the work our Crisis Intervention Team has accomplished through its involvement with the state’s Mid-South CIT Council,” Tom Keller, Ozarks Healthcare President and CEO, said. “Their recent recognition as ‘established’ means immense progress has already been made in helping the population in crisis have access to resources that are so important to all aspects of health.”
As the number of those dealing with mental health crises continues to rise across the nation, law enforcement officers across Missouri are completing trainings to improve safety and emergency response efforts. As part of its CIT involvement, Ozarks Healthcare’s Crisis Intervention Team conducts 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for local law enforcement, which focuses on helping officers learn how to approach and help individuals who are suffering from a mental health crisis. CIT trainings across the state have already proven successful in increasing officer/citizen safety through a stronger understanding of mental health, reducing the time officers spend at hospital emergency departments, decreasing arrest rates, and reducing recidivism.
Ozarks Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Center (BHC) works continuously with the Missouri CIT to accomplish its goals across the Ozarks, which include:
- Promote more effective interactions between law enforcement and first responders working with individuals in crisis by attending a 40-hour training centered on behavioral health education and de-escalation skills
- Assist individuals in crisis by connecting them with available community resources in an effort to avoid involvement with the criminal justice system and unnecessary emergency department visits
- Improve the safety of the first responder and individual(s) in crisis
- Reduce stigma and trauma individuals experience during a behavioral health crisis
Expand and sustain CIT across the state
For more information about Ozarks Healthcare’s BHC and services, visit https://www.ozarkshealthcare.com/services/behavioral-health/.
