Linn County access center opens sobering unit, now takes in law enforcement referrals

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Linn County Mental Health Access Center now offers a 24-hour sobering unit and started accepting referrals from law enforcement, which will further alleviate emergency room visits and overcrowded jails for those who are intoxicated or in need of mental health treatment and aren’t being charged with a crime.

The access center is one of about 10 now opened across Iowa that are designated by the 14 Mental Health and Disability Regions to provide a place for people who are in crisis, where they can be assessed, treated and referred to additional services, if necessary.

The sobering unit provides intoxicated individuals a safe place to stay because someone intoxicated who hasn’t committed a crime doesn’t belong in jail but may be in crisis or have a substance abuse issue and also can go through an assessment before leaving the center.

Erin Foster, director of the center, said the center helps people get what they need in one place.

“Every day is something different — a new issue we hadn’t thought about and work together — outside the box to figure it out,” Foster said.

The sobering unit, which opened in September, has started out slow. It had 16 patients in October and about nine so far this month. She expects those numbers to increase as people become aware of the service.

“Usually the night before Thanksgiving is a big drinking night and we will probably see an increase over the holidays and also in referrals from law enforcement,” Foster said.

Direct referrals from law enforcement — meaning an officer or deputy brings in someone in crisis or intoxicated instead of taking them to jail or a hospital — have brought in more than 45 patients so far. The majority have been referred by Cedar Rapids police and there have been about “handful” from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and Marion police. Foster is expecting that to go up as departments learn more about the center’s services.

Foster continues to work on outreach around the county and wants to make rural communities aware of what the center can offer. Most law enforcement officials know about the center but likely are weighing whether it’s worth the drive if they are several miles away.

Foster points out that emergency-room waits for law enforcement officials can be hours that they have to spend out of service as they wait to “hand off” the individual. At the access center, however, that wait time is reduced. Foster said officers who bring in a patient to the center are spending only about seven to 10 minutes there. Even if an officer is driving in from a rural area, it will still cut down on their wait time.

The access center, which opened in March, has had more than 300 walk-ins since May, Foster said, which doesn’t include the mobile crisis unit response. October was an “extremely” high month for walk-ins with 82. It’s usually about 45 to 50 a month.

“GuideLink (Center in Iowa City, also designated as an access) had the same thing in October,” Foster said. “We usually mirror each other. We’ve had some quiet days this month, which is typical leading up to a holiday. Next week the numbers should go up.”

Foster said she and Abbey Ferenzi, executive director at GuideLink, collaborate all the time about the centers and how to improve the services. They also share ideas on how to better help the patients.

The Linn center’s demographics, so far, have been about 60 percent men and 40 percent women, and about 60 percent of those who come in range in age from 25 to 44.

Service providers work with the access center to provide help with mental health crises, substance abuse, crisis stabilization, counseling and peer support. The Linn center also will soon offer a three- to five-day detox program.

The center has 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. walk-in hours. After hours, law enforcement can contact Area Ambulance, which is the center’s service provider for the sobering unit, to conduct intake for that unit.

Foundation 2 Crisis Services, another service provider, is working to increase its staff, so the center can offer weekend hours, Foster said.

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