Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center has an exceptional emergency services program, which consists of the Assessment/Mobile Crisis Team and the EMS-Mobile Crisis Telehealth program.
Assessment/Mobile Crisis
Ph: Charleston County 843-414-2350, 1-800-613-8379
Assessment/Mobile Crisis (A/MC) is a 24/7 psychiatric assessment team serving both Charleston and Dorchester Counties, diverting individuals from local emergency departments, when clinically appropriate, by linking them more directly to the appropriate treatment. A/MC is available to the community 365 days a year to triage psychiatric needs and connect individuals to treatment resources.
A/MC is available by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for treatment resource information and/or triage services:
A/MC provides face-to-face assessments at our Charleston and Dorchester Clinics on a walk-in basis, Monday-Friday from 8:30am-3pm. Individuals seeking both urgent and routine treatment can walk-in to the clinic to receive triage services, a thorough assessment to include a provisional diagnosis, and connection to the appropriate outpatient or inpatient treatment services. If it is determined that the outpatient services at CDMHC will best serve the individual, they will receive appointments to meet with a therapist, psychiatrist or nurse practitioner, and nursing services as needed. While it is not required, we recommend calling A/MC for triage services before walking in to increase the efficiency with which we can connect you to the appropriate services.
“The Mobile Crisis unit and the in-service training supplied by CDMHC to the sheriff’s officers is a tremendous benefit to the citizens of Charleston.”
– Chief Deputy Guy Vanhorn, an employee of the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office for thirty years
When needed, the mental health professionals with A/MC can be sent anywhere in the community, except for local hospital emergency departments, to assess the needs of any individual in psychiatric crisis 24/7. A/MC partners with local law enforcement to provide in-person emergency assessments to link individuals to the appropriate level of care to treat their symptoms. Please note that these services are in Dorchester County after-hours. A/MC is also a member of the Lowcountry Crisis Negotiation Team, assisting local law enforcement with any scenes requiring a crisis negotiator.
If you don’t live in Charleston or Dorchester counties but feel like you may be in need of these emergency services, please contact the Community Crisis Response and Intervention (CCRI) team at 833-DMH-CCRI to be linked to the mental health professionals in your area of the state.
EMS-Mobile Crisis Telehealth Program
In 2017, Assessment/Mobile Crisis (A/MC) collaborated with Charleston County Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS), Medical University of South Carolina, and the SC Telehealth Alliance to implement a new pilot project to further divert behavioral health patients from local hospital emergency departments (ED), when appropriate.
CCEMS uses the telehealth technology on 911 calls which are identified as psychiatric in nature. They first send an ambulance to evaluate the individual for medical needs for emergency transport. If there are no medical concerns, a CCEMS supervisor is dispatched to the scene, with the telehealth equipment. At this time, the ambulance is able to leave the scene, returning to service for other calls.
A/MC is contacted by the supervisor, and they establish a video connection using HIPAA compliant software called Vidyo. The AMC clinicians are able to use this platform to gather information from police, EMS, the patient, and any friends/family on scene. They provide a full emergency mental health assessment, and coordinate linking the individual directly to the appropriate level of care. Possible dispositions include follow-up with outpatient treatment, admission to the Tricounty Crisis Stabilization Center, inpatient treatment (voluntary and involuntary), or a link to treatment for substance use disorders.
In the first year of this project, A/MC and CCEMS conducted 772 calls and 56% of these individuals were diverted from the emergency department by being linked directly to the appropriate community resource. The estimated cost savings to the Charleston healthcare community in the first year, based on decreased ambulance transports and ED visits alone, is over $1.1 million. This project has already been awarded 2 state awards and 1 national award for the innovative solution it offers to increasing access to treatment services in our area.
