York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health is expanding access to behavioral health crisis services in two of the state's counties in April.
The health system said March 21 that mobile crisis care will be part of its service expansion strategy in York and Adams Counties. Community members can call the WellSpan Crisis Services line, where they will be routed to counselors to determine if they should be seen in an outpatient setting or the emergency department.
Mobile crisis counselors will respond directly and travel to patients tabbed for outpatient crisis care, the health system said. The strategy is expected to benefit the area's emergency departments as well as the patient, through timely, personalized care.
"Our experience is that 80 percent of people who contact WellSpan when they are having a mental health or substance use crisis do not need emergency department care and can get better faster when they are served in community, not hospital, settings," WellSpan Behavioral Health Vice President Shannon Gordon, EdD, said in a news release. "We are excited to expand our ability to provide personalized care and support to residents of York and Adams County in this new way."
WellSpan Health and Hanover-based TrueNorth Wellness Services both currently provide crisis services in the area. WellSpan will be the sole provider as of April 1, the health system said.