Hospitals across the state are dealing with an influx of emergency room patients seeking mental health services since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020. To ease the transition from a hospital to local mental health providers, the Maryland Department of Health opened a new call center in partnership with health care nonprofits to provide resources to patients before they are discharged. Providers dial 211 and press four for help.
“Instead of having an individual that truly does need resources in the community, just leave and go right back to where they had ended up, 211 is there to coordinate convenient services for outpatient individuals that really need either mental health resources, substance abuse resources, you name it,” said Tara Hargadon, assistant secretary of customer experience at MDH.
In 2018, mental health accounted for 11.5% of emergency room visits statewide, according to the Maryland Department of Health. That number ballooned to nearly 48% in 2021.
The Maryland Department of Health’s Coordination Care Program is in collaboration with Maryland 211. Call center operators offer hospital staff local resources including substance abuse clinics, food pantries, therapists and psychiatrists.
State agencies already worked with 211 for other services like crisis and suicide hotlines with its 211 press one option. However, earlier this year the national 988 hotline took over for 211 press one.
“The state had discussions with us about a need to help support individuals who are stuck within the emergency room that needed some kind of coordination services,” said Quinton Askew, president and CEO of Maryland 211. “We felt that role fits right with what we're doing.”
Mariana Izraelson, the executive director at Grassroots Crisis Intervention, a nonprofit providing 211 and shelter services, says things haven’t changed in 2022.
“We have seen significant increases in the number of phone calls and the number of texts,” she said. “The heart of the calls continues to be identical. Individuals are struggling with suicidality. They are calling for a support system; they are calling for an empathetic listener. They're calling for somebody to be with them through that moment in that particular crisis they're experiencing.”
