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GALVESTON, Texas - Galveston County Commissioners made a historic move and approved a transfer of $8 million to the Gulf Coast Center to cover the total estimated cost of building the first-ever Mental Health Crisis Center, a release stated.
According to the release, the center will be in the former Galveston County Health District 4C's Clinic in the City of La Marque and is expected to be open in 2024.
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The new Mental Health Crisis Center will provide Galveston County and the Gulf Coast Center the ability to assist people experiencing mental health crisis that need stabilization and connection to a network of services after appropriate observation and assessment by a team of clinicians. This will be a revolutionary change to how individuals experiencing mental health crisis receive treatment and reduce the burden on the criminal justice system. Without the Mental Health Crisis Center, justice involved persons in mental health crisis are taken to jail or hospital emergency rooms as the only viable options for stabilization and observation.
The new Mental Health Crisis Center will have ten Extended Observation Unit (EOU) beds to support the rapid stabilization and delivery of targeted services to adults with a mental health diagnosis for up to 72 hours. It will also feature ten dedicated beds to respite. Clinical staff in the facility will work to coordinate care in the community, medication management, provide discharge medications, and/or if necessary, coordinate an increased level of care – including hospitalization.
Law enforcement personnel will also be able to return faster to the field by more efficiently dropping a person in crisis at the center as opposed to the current system of having to transport a person in mental health crisis to the County Jail or St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston.