The Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center is expanding in the face of a glaring mental health problem in Kansas City.
People with mental illnesses or substance abuse disorders go to the emergency room multiple times a year. For some people, it's more than 100 times a year. Many of those same people have multiple run-ins with the law and often go to jail.
City leaders believe those people should not be in the ER or jail.
"That case management to be the bridge from inpatient, or [emergency department], or jail, to the outpatient world is really what our community doesn't have at times," Vice President of ReDiscover Lauren Moyer said.
The KC-ATC has seen more than 700 people since October. The Missouri Hospital Association said that's more than $1.5 million in savings for local emergency departments.
"We have not had as many people continue to revolve through our door, however for those handful of folks who need 3, 4, maybe 9 times, that's okay because at least they're coming back to us, versus continually going back to jail, or continue to use the costly resources of the ED," Moyer said.
"T" said he can't remember how he got to the KC-ATC, but it was a positive turning point in his life.
T was always in and out of jail because of his alcoholism. He wanted to fix his life, but rehab is too expensive, so he said he started breaking the law on purpose.
"The only time I went to rehab, I went through court, so I started getting in trouble again 'cause that's the only way to get in," T said.
Decriminalizing mental illness is the KC-ATC’s goal.
The KC-ATC is the only center of its kind in the state, and it’s run by ReDiscover. Seeing how busy the facility is every day, an expansion is on its way. A second building, the former Peery Apartments, will provide longer-term respite care. The KC-ATC privatized the building from the Department of Mental Health. It'll be ready for clients on Monday.
Moyer said the stay-time at the new building will be up to 90 days, as opposed to 24 hours at the original facility.
Many people come to the KC-ATC more than once, but T hopes his first time will stick. Through his time at the KC-ATC, caseworkers connected him to long-term rehab. T just got a job.
"It feels very good getting back on my feet," T said. "There's a chance, there's always a chance, and this place helped me a lot."
