CREOKS Mental Health Services, Inc.

PROJECT PURPOSE

We are proposing to build and operate a Crisis Diversion Center in the city of Sapulpa designed to serve children in 14 counties as well as Oklahoma wide. We are the state contracted mental health provider for crisis services to children in the counties of Adair, Atoka, Cherokee, Coal, Creek, Haskell, Hughes, Latimer, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Sequoyah, and Wagoner. Most recent OSDH vital statistics indicates a cost of over $31 million in psychiatric hospitalizations a year for our catchment area. There aren?t enough crisis beds or inpatient beds for children in Oklahoma. Children sit in Emergency Rooms for days to literally weeks waiting for placement. We also must send approximately 20 children a month out of state for crisis/inpatient beds (Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri). We served almost 1,100 children needing hospital diversion last year. This 16 bed and 8 recliner urgent care crisis center could serve children in our service area and across the state saving the state millions of dollars, reducing the burden on Emergency Rooms to warehouse children, and the strain on families. This center is projected to serve over 1000 children a year.

EVIDENCE

We have operated another crisis center in a different part of the state for the last 7 years. We calculate that in the last 3 years we have diverted over 3,000 people from an unneeded hospitalization and saved the state more than $10 million. These crisis diversion centers are considered by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services the standard of care for initially addressing crisis situations. Unfortunately, the state does not have the funding to establish enough of these crisis centers to offset the demand. This has become particularly acute during COVID-19.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

This crisis center is to address vulnerable children without insurance or on Medicaid with a mental health or substance abuse crisis. This has become particularly acute during COVID where we recorded a 683% increase in hospital bed days- not crisis center beds- in our catchment area during 2020. Mental Health America (MHA) reported that 59% of Oklahomans living with a mental illness did not receive treatment in 2020 due to COVID. At the same time, MHA reported a 93% increase in people looking for help with anxiety and a 62% increase in people looking for help with depression. While the national suicide rate fell by 5.6% during 2020, OSDH data indicates that Oklahoma experienced a 22% increase in suicides between 2019 and 2020. Due to the seriousness of suicide in ODMHSAS convened a statewide summit on 4/30/2021 and charged all providers to prioritize suicide prevention, screening, and treatment services. This center is to meet that identified need and reduce suicides in Oklahoma.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Through our electronic health record, we can collect data on beneficiaries? income as well as address to report persons in a Qualified Census Tract and target income level. We have sophisticated financial tracking to report the use of obligated funds as required by the US Department of Treasury. Program outcomes to track: persons served, 40% reduction in catchment area hospitalizations in year 1; 40% reduction in ER visits less than 12 hours in year 1, 30% reduction in out of state transports in year 1, 85% of persons discharged will not readmit within 180 days, 30-day readmission rate < 2%.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma