Starting in November, frequent 911 callers in the city of Mobile will be able to use free iPads to connect with mental health services.

Dr. Cindy Gipson, director of crisis and justice-involved services at AltaPointe Health, says the city is hopeful the program will reduce the load on its emergency services.

“Over the last couple of years, there’s a group of what we call familiar faces,” she said.

“They’re folks who use the majority of 911 services. And so, they are calling for really routine things. But when they do call, sometimes an officer is dispatched, sometimes multiple times a day. Sometimes EMS is dispatched. And when EMS is dispatched, so is a fire truck.”

“So, you’re looking at up to 10 people with multiple expensive to operate vehicles coming out to somebody’s house at least once a day, sometimes more than once a day,” she continued.

“And we have been trying to find a solution to help those folks get linked to the clinical side of things.”

Gipson said the majority of the area’s frequent callers have a mental health diagnosis.

Using the new MyCare Technologies program, these callers will be able to connect with experienced “peers” on the iPad that can talk through their issues with them or connect them to a therapist.

“The goal is to get them in the habit of doing this, which is a far less costly service than having all of these people respond to their home,” she said.

“Everybody’s definition of crisis is different…And so, we can determine whether we need to send a crisis worker out to their house based on the call…or if we really do need paramedics, that sort of thing. But it helps us really triage those minor issues and teach them when it’s appropriate to call 911.”

Currently the city spends over a $1 million a year on EMS transport alone for these frequent callers, Gipson said.

AltaPointe’s goal is to decrease that figure by 85% in the first year.

But even decreasing it by half would be “huge,” Gipson said.

Past success

The city is optimistic about the program after seeing success with a similar pilot between MyCare and local law enforcement.

“We’ve had the iPads…in law enforcement patrol vehicles and we’ve been doing that for about two years now,” Gipson said.

“And it’s been really successful in diverting people with mental illness from jail and arrest…A clinician is on the other end of that iPad 24/7. So, if an officer has someone that they believe is in a mental health crisis, they just hit a button, and it connects directly to a clinician. So, we’re able to help de-escalate those calls.”

Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, recently used a similar program and found that around 80 percent of the time the ability of officers to deploy telepsychiatry helped de-escalate scenarios, according to a report from The Independent.

Public response

Some residents have questioned whether the service is “rewarding bad behavior?” according to Gipson.

“My answer to that is a definitive no,” she said.

“These are not typical community members engaging in willful abuse of 911 services. These are individuals living with some of the most severe thought and mood disorders and they truly believe someone is in their attic, or that a device is implanted in their body and no amount of medication or hospitalization changes some of these symptoms.”

Gipson added that the iPads can’t be resold because they are restricted to only operate the 911 program and do nothing else.

“My first question [was]…How do these all not end up in a pawn shop?” she said.

“And they’re [MyCare] like, nobody will take them at a pawn shop because there’s no use for them.”

Looking forward

Gipson said she is hopeful that the pilot program will be a major step in resolving an issue that impacts people throughout Mobile.

“We can’t just say, that’s 911’s problem, or that’s the police’s problem,” she said.

“It’s everybody’s problem because we’re all taxpayers. And most of the people who were over utilizing 911 services don’t have insurance. And the taxpayers are paying for those trips and they’re paying for those ER visits for whether they realize it or not.”

“And so, I think that it’s important that communities come together and figure out solutions to problems like this,” she concluded.

“And that’s just the key to all of it.”

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.