New State Bill Would Establish Regional Crisis and Urgent Care and Observation Centers

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Natalie Eilbert, Green Bay Press-Gazette) Being handcuffed and put into a patrol car for what could be an hours-long trip to Winnebago Mental Health Institute would distress just about anyone, but it's one of the few options available for Wisconsinites experiencing a severe mental health crisis.

According to Natalie Eilbert with Green Bay Press-Gazette, that's because under the current emergency detention process, a patient is taken either there or an emergency room to be evaluated and admitted. But going to an emergency room for a severe mental health crisis is no guarantee the patient will receive local care.

The patient can still be transferred to another private facility or Winnebago by law enforcement if the emergency room doesn't have the space for overnight admission, according to HJ Waukau, legislative director for Wisconsin Department of Public Health, who wrote a testimony for information only to the Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families last fall.

A new bill would establish additional regional crisis urgent care and observation centers, replicating what is available at Winnebago so that patients can be treated closer to home.

The bill also relieves law enforcement officers who are tasked with handcuffing and driving patients to Winnebago Mental Health Institute. State Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep.

Clint Moses, R-Menominee, who introduced the bill, both said police officers responsible for these trips end up spending hours or entire days driving to and from Oshkosh, an expensive process that also takes officers out of the communities they serve.

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