Cleveland Plain Dealer…
Coping with a drug, mental health crisis? Cuyahoga County gets $1.8 million to help
By Sarah Jane Tribble, The Plain Dealer
Friday, September 07, 2012 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Mental Health announced Thursday that it will give Cuyahoga County $1.8 million to create an alternative treatment solution for people suffering from a psychiatric episode or substance abuse. 

The short-term option, proposed by Cleveland's biggest hospitals and community providers, would move people out of emergency departments to a dedicated, 72-hour unit that is expected to provide better care and reduce costs. 

"What we are attempting do here is to demonstrate whether there are positive budget and clinical outcomes that can occur," said Tracey Plouck, Ohio's mental health director. "Intuitively, we think the answer is yes." 

Individuals arrive daily at local emergency rooms with psychotic-like symptoms, including being disoriented and confused, according to local health experts. 

Emergency rooms are not only a costly way to provide treatment, but they usually release individuals after 23 hours, said Esther Pla, chief executive of Connections, a non-profit mental and behavioral health agency that helped create the proposal for state funding. 

Additionally, emergency room doctors and nurses often don't have time to make an assessment, complete a drug screen and contact community agencies that may help the individual stay healthy, said Pla… 

Read the rest of the story at the Cleveland Plain Dealer