If you need shelter as a result of Hurricane Harvey, please call 311 or visit redcross.org/shelters. If you need immediate mental health crisis support, please call us 24/7 at 512-472-HELP (4357).

Integral Care, Travis County’s Local Mental Health Authority that supports adults and children living with mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities, announces enhancements to its 24/7 Helpline.

 

Integral Care’s 24/7 Helpline, originally established as a volunteer crisis and resource hotline in the late 1960s, expanded its services in 2015 to improve access to care and provide direct connection to around-the-clock mental health crisis support as well as Integral Care’s programs and services for adults and children. Most recently, Integral Care began providing access to Helpline services through interpretation services available in 15 languages as well as implemented an automated callback feature.

 

“Connecting people to ongoing care is critical for recovery, health and well‐being,” said David Evans, CEO of Integral Care. “When someone calls the Helpline, it’s often the first time they’re reaching out for help. Having one point of entry to Integral Care, through our 24/7 Helpline, makes it easier for people to access the health services they need when they need them.”

 

In FY’17, the Helpline supported almost 250,000 calls. Over 18,000 people were connected to immediate support just by calling 512-472-HELP.

 

“The Helpline was literally a lifesaver,” said an Integral Care client. “My husband had just passed away. If I hadn’t had the Helpline, I wouldn’t be here today. They gave me reassurance that I was not alone, that there was help out there. They connected me to ongoing care within Integral Care. Today, I have my case manager, my peer support specialist, my nutritionist, my personal trainer. It’s an overall, well-rounded support system that I’ve gotten through Integral Care. It’s made my life whole again.”

 

Integral Care’s 24/7 Helpline features include:

 

• One point of entry to Integral Care’s programs and services.
• A team of to 40 trained call-center professionals.
• Access to Integral Care services through interpretation services available in 15 languages.
• Immediate emotional support for a mental health crisis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Access to Integral Care’s programs and services for adults and children experiencing mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Access to appointment scheduling.
• Connection to emergency services.
• Connection to trusted community resources through 211.
• Support for billing questions.
• Proactive, follow up calls to ensure services were delivered and the client is benefiting from the services.
• Automated callbacks so people don’t have to wait on hold when making follow up appointments.

 

“The Integral Care 24/7 Helpline provides hope to individuals,” said Nicole Warren, supervisor of the Helpline. “That’s what we do on a regular basis. Letting people know that they are not alone, and getting them connected to life-saving resources at Integral Care is an important part of our job. Our Helpline is saving lives and improving access to quality health care for our community.”

The Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care is now open for internal referrals through Integral Care’s crisis services. The Herman Center offers the right level of care at the right time while reducing the cost of care and improving health outcomes for patients.

The Herman Center provides short term, emergency psychiatric crisis care for adults in Travis County. It will support our community by providing an alternative to incarceration and in-patient care, and will offer the opportunity to ensure that individuals whose primary issue is mental health have an appropriate and safe place to be stabilized, assessed and treated. The goal is to quickly resolve the immediate crisis so the individual can return home or transfer to another Integral Care residential program for ongoing support and recovery. To learn more about the services of the Center, click here.

Moving forward, primary referrals to the Herman Center will come from law enforcement, healthcare providers like local emergency departments. The Herman Center is not suitable for walk-ins or self referrals.

Thank you to all of our community partners, especially St. David’s Foundation and Central Health, for making this much needed service available in the community. St. David’s Foundation funded the project with a grant totaling almost $9M and Central Health made the land available via a low cost (virtually free) long-term lease, valued at $1.2M.

Integral Care, in partnership with the University of Houston, has been awarded a 3-year, $1.3 million grant through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). As part of the Taking Texas Tobacco Free project, the grant will help at least 18 substance use disorder treatment centers in Texas implement a sustainable, multi-component, tobacco-free workplace program.

The mission of Taking Texas Tobacco Free is to promote wellness by reducing tobacco use and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among employees, clients and visitors. This grant follows two other successful CPRIT-funded grant projects with Integral Care and the University of Houston. Through those projects, we helped 22 local mental health authorities in Texas implement sustainable, multi-component tobacco-free workplace programs.

Integral Care was awarded a grant by St. David’s Foundation to expand our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training program. We are now offering weekly classes to the community. MHFA is a one-day training that teaches people how to help someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis or showing signs of mental illness or substance use disorder. Just like CPR can save someone who can’t breathe or is having a heart attack, MHFA can save a life. Register for MHFA today.

July 17, 2017

On July 17th, over 100 people attended the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care. Senators, Representatives, City Council members, law enforcement, our partners St. David’s Foundation and Central Health as well as members of the community were all present to mark this historic occasion.

The Herman Center will provide short term, emergency psychiatric crisis care for adults in Travis County. It will support our community by providing an alternative to incarceration and in-patient care, and will offer the opportunity to ensure that individuals whose primary issue is mental health have an appropriate and safe place to be stabilized, assessed and treated. The goal is to quickly resolve the immediate crisis so the individual can return home or transfer to another Integral Care residential program for ongoing support and recovery. The Herman Center offers the right level of care at the right time while reducing the cost of care and improving health outcomes for patients. Primary referrals to the Herman Center will come through law enforcement and health care providers like emergency rooms. The Herman Center is not suitable for walk-ins or self referrals. To learn more about the services of the Center, click here.

Thank you to all of our community partners, especially St. David’s Foundation and Central Health, for making this much needed service available in the community. St. David’s Foundation funded the project with a grant totaling almost $9M and Central Health made the land available via a low cost (virtually free) long-term lease, valued at $1.2M.

There is an urgent health crisis facing our country. Over the last 15 years, there has been a major increase in deaths and overdoses from prescription drugs across the United States. To ensure the health and safety of our clients and reduce the risk of adverse events, Integral Care will limit the use of sedatives and some anti-anxiety, narcotic and psychostimulant medications to our clients effective January 1, 2017. Exceptions to the prescribing policy will include some medications for clients 18 or younger and some medications for clients going through medically-supervised detox. This policy applies to all Integral Care clinics, including Psychiatric Emergency Services. This policy is consistent with other mental health authorities.

Integral Care staff received special training and is working closely with each client to transition them to medications that are safer and still effective over the coming months. We’re also working with stakeholders across the community to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the clients we serve. Please contact Medical Director Dr. Craig Franke at craig.franke@integralcare.org or (512) 445-7750 with any questions or concerns. You can also learn more about the prescribing changes here.

Integral Care’s vision of Healthy Living for Everyone promotes an inclusive culture respectful of all individuals. We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. To support positive health outcomes for the diverse populations we serve, we also provide Language Access Services to individuals with disabilities as well as non-English speakers to ensure everyone gets the care they need. Learn more here.

Integral Care charges a maximum monthly fee for services based on a client’s income and family size. To determine their maximum monthly fee, Integral Care clients must provide all required documents and complete a Financial Assessment. Click here to learn more.

Integral Care is pleased to announce that applications for new and renewing providers will now be continuously accepted throughout the year. We think you’ll like the changes we’ve made to the applications! To learn more visit the Provider page.