KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) has awarded a contract to Helen Ross McNabb Center to provide mobile crisis services for children and youth. Starting July 1, the Helen Ross McNabb Center will begin providing these services for children and youth under the age of 18 in Blount, Knox, Loudon, Monroe and Sevier counties.

The new mobile crisis hotline number is 865-539-2409.

Mobile crisis provides a 24-hour crisis response system for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The program provides assessments, triage, and access to appropriate levels of care. Triage staff determine if individuals experiencing a crisis needs to be seen face-to-face. If it is determined that the person in crisis needs to be seen, a master's level clinician will meet with the client in person or through a video conference to determine the level of care that is needed. The Helen Ross McNabb Center currently provides a continuum of crisis services for adults, including mobile crisis. The Center also provides services that range from prevention to recovery care for individuals living with mental health and addiction issues. “It is critical that children and families in crisis receive care when they need it the most. We are pleased to now offer quality mobile crisis services as part of our children and youth continuum of care,” states Jerry Vagnier, Helen Ross McNabb Center President and CEO.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) regionalized the way in which mobile crisis services are provided around the state. In May, TDMHSAS announced the regional contract providers for children and youth mobile crisis services. A competitive process was used to make the selection, with the Department’s goal to service more children and youth around the state with existing resources.

“The provision of consistent, high-quality crisis services for children and youth across the State of Tennessee is a high priority for us,” TDMHSAS Commissioner E. Douglas Varney said. “We feel that regional service providers have better knowledge of the total array of residential and inpatient services available in their community, as well as improved collaboration/partnerships with other local systems involved in the care of children and youth.”

The Helen Ross McNabb Center is a premier not‐for‐profit provider of behavioral health services in East Tennessee. Since 1948, the Center has provided quality and compassionate care to children, adults and families experiencing mental illness, addiction and social challenges. As the Center celebrates more than 65 years of providing services to communities in East Tennessee, its mission remains clear and simple; “Improving the lives of the people we serve.” For more information, visit www.mcnabbcenter.org or call 800-255‐9711.

Published June 25, 2014