The Will County Health Department is expanding its mental health and behavioral health services for adults, children and adolescents, officials announced.
The Mobile Crisis Response program will operate out of the health department branches in Bolingbrook and Monee to respond to psychiatric crises, with the service available around the clock. Screenings and assessments for children, adolescents and adults will be conducted prior to any admission to a hospital for psychiatric care, a health department news release said.
In addition to the expansion of the Mobile Crisis Response program, the health department’s northern branch at 323 Quadrangle Drive in Bolingbrook will also offer the 590 Crisis Care program, which links individuals to social services to address their needs while reducing the number of unneeded hospitalizations, the release said.
The health department has also added a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner to its Bolingbrook location for adults and children.
The expansion allows the office to see new clients who are geographically closer to Bolingbrook, officials said. Existing clients who normally go to the main office at 501 Ella Ave. in Joliet can also go to the Bolingbrook location if it is more convenient, the release said.
The Mobile Crisis Response team will also be working in Monee, 5601 W. Monee-Manhattan Road, and that branch is offering outpatient mental health services.
Outpatient mental health services, psychiatric assessments and substance use treatment and recovery services as well as the Mobile Crisis Response and 590 Crisis Care programs are also offered at the Joliet location.
The behavioral health division also has added intake staff and streamlined the intake process to reduce the time between an initial call and being assigned to a therapist for an appointment, the release said. Spanish-speaking clients can be linked to an interpreter at the time of their initial call, officials said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
