AIM Access Community Center

Nature of the Problem

AIM would like to start a phone access line where those in active addiction, mental health crisis, and their loved ones can reach out to AIM a Certified Recovery Specialist and a nurse to discuss their options and be given resources. We would like the access line to work directly with Philadelphia’s 911 centers and AIM’s Street Outreach. We have seen data on this and it is working, Grady Hospital in Georgia has a similar Access center up and running. AIM would be diverting thousands of calls away from the 911 system, and offering resources, support, education and love to the communities. We would also be deescalating situations that police presence unfortunately only escalates. It would also be freeing up police to take care of criminal activity, what they are trained to do. The situations our teams would be heading out to our in need of empathy, a listening ear and resources. Also we would be saving hundreds of thousands of dollars that hopefully could be used to help those who are seeking treatment and housing.

Program Description

The AIM Crisis Access Line is a service we plan to provide to those suffering with the disease of addiction and those with mental illness. We will provide Certified Recovery Specialist services along with a nurses to those that overdosed, looking for support, assistance or are having a mental health crisis. We hope to be working in tandem with 911 dispatchers and police. The purpose of this is simple, to SAVE LIVES. We will revive overdose victims, then our CRS service and AIM experience will begin. We will become peers to people who have just suffered from an overdose by providing them with love, hope, and compassion. We will work to guide them in the first steps of recovery which is being treated as a person suffering from a disease and not a patient alone in a hospital room. We will talk to them and provide the necessary resources. The only option presently is to call 911. Many times a police presence escalates situations, so many do not call for assistance or refuse it when it is offered because of fear. Services and support are needed for those in active addiction, but also for the loved ones and the community.

Disruption

The AIM Crisis Access Line is modeled after the Grady Hospital Diversion Team. This started as a pilot program in 2012 because the only prior option was to send an ambulance to callers and transport to the ER. This became permanent in 2013 and has thrived. It has saved on average 2,800 hours per year of police time. Now in Georgia the callers are receiving the help they need and deserve by being treated by professionals who are trained to not only revive an overdose victim but to deescalate mental health situations, as well as to treat them after with love and compassion. This is what AIM does now. We feel it is time for AIM to move forward and follow a model that is already working in Atlanta, Georgia.

Leadership

AIM’s Access Line would be called first, before EMS by family, friends and the community. This will decrease in ambulance transportation and ER visits. This alone will be huge. With a patient list that is shared, we will be able to identify those who call frequently and start offering services to them as well. All mental health and SUD calls would be diverted to us, unless there was a medical emergency, and then we would go together. Clients who call the access line more than 5 times a month would receive services. Prior data concludes that 1 visit decreases the number of times they call 911, the calls continue to drop as long as we continue to engage with them. We hope this will help the behavior health community see how important interaction, supportive services and helping to keep clients engaged has a positive outcome.

Scalability

AIM and the Philadelphia SEPTA Police have been granted the BJA Kensington Opioid Grant. We will be building upon the partnership already in place between AIM the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the SEPTA police. This is a great opportunity for the Department of Health to support the expansion of AIM’s services and resources and to create new partnerships with law enforcement agencies like SEPTA Police. More lives will be saved through cross-agency collaborative initiatives such as this one. AIM supports this important initiative to combat the opioid crisis in Philadelphia and looks forward to continuing its partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the SEPTA police.

Results/Outcomes

Prior data concludes that 1 visit decreases the number of times clients call 911, and the calls continue to drop with continued engagement. We hope this will help the behavior health community see how important interaction, supportive services and keeping clients engaged has a positive outcome on their success. Shared patient lists will help identify those who call frequently and offer services there too. When someone calls 10 times a month, we want to help break that cycle; if we put our data together we can do this. Hospital to Home after discharge from treatment we would be there to support them and the family. . Non – access to care, lonely, depressed, struggling with addiction, scared family members in need of support are calling EMS, we could assist in breaking this habit. Calls for life threatening events, car accident, and heart attack would be 911’s focus again.