KC's mental health crisis center gets another year
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The City Council approved a $1 million contract Thursday with ReDiscover to keep the Kansas City Assessment & Triage Center (KC-ATC) running for another year.
Why it matters: KC-ATC is where police officers and emergency departments send people in a mental health or addiction crisis whose cases aren't appropriate for jail or the hospital.
Catch up quick: It opened in 2016 after Truman Medical Center, now University Health, shut down its behavioral health ER in 2015 and left police and hospitals cycling the same people through ERs and holding cells, some racking up more than 100 ER visits a year.
- The original deal split funding among the city, Missouri's mental health department, Ascension, and six area hospitals.
- A $20 million Ascension contribution, paid at $2 million a year for 10 years, has covered most of the operating budget since then.
- That money has come from Ascension's 2015 sale of St. Joseph Medical Center and St. Mary's Medical Center. The money was set aside for KC charity care and is winding down this year.
How it works: The 24/7 center at 12th and Prospect takes referrals from KCPD and area ERs, stabilizes people, and then connects them with housing, treatment or medication.
- The average stay is about 16 hours, according to a Truman Medical Centers case study. Clients come voluntarily and can leave whenever they want.
- The center doesn't take walk-ins; officers and hospitals must call first.
By the numbers: In its first six months, the center took in more than 700 people and saved local ERs an estimated $1.5 million, according to Missouri Hospital Association data.
- KC ERs had been getting 17,000 visits a year from people with mental illness or substance use issues, the data shows.
What's next: The state is also building a new $300 million psychiatric hospital at Belvidere Park, expected to open in late 2027 or early 2028, which will include a separate psychiatric ER open to the public.