FAYETTEVILLE -- The Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit will reopen as soon as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences can field a full staff for the facility, officials said.
The unit closed June 30 after funding cuts, from $133,000 per month to $90,000, were announced by the state in May.
Lisa Evans is an associate professor in UAMS's Department of Psychiatry and medical director of the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit. Evans said the Northwest Arkansas unit requires 20-25 staff, with the positions being a combination of registered nurses, patient services associates, nurse practitioners, social workers, case managers and psychiatrists.
Evans said UAMS is working as quickly as it can to hire staff and open the facility but wouldn't say how long that might take.
Washington County Judge Joseph Wood said after the Jan. 20 Quorum Court meeting the contract between the county and UAMS has been signed, and he's optimistic the unit can open by the end of February or early March.
"That's if UAMS can get staff hired and get all the certifications needed," Wood said.
Kathryn Griffin, justice reinvestment coordinator for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, said Thursday she's anxious for the center to open and she has heard the same rough timetable as Wood.
"They're in the process and have filled many of the professional positions they need to reopen," Griffin said.
Evans said the continuing covid pandemic makes hiring health care professionals more difficult than it would normally be, but the type of work at the stabilization unit can be attractive.
"Certainly recruiting and hiring medical staff is a challenge during the current covid crisis," Evans said. "Nursing staff in particular are under a lot of stress and experiencing burn out. The good news is that psychiatric nursing positions can often provide a little 'relief,' that is, we primarily provide psychiatric nursing, which is a nice change from providing care for covid patients in medical/surgical settings right now."
The unit closed after Ozark Guidance President Laura Tyler said in July the company, a nonprofit group, couldn't absorb a cut of $43,000 a month and still operate the unit.
The 16-bed facility is operated as an alternative to jail. Participation is voluntary for those treated, who are usually accused of creating a disturbance, trespassing or other disruptive behaviors, law enforcement officials said.
Griffin said Thursday all of the crisis stabilization units are operating with the same level of state money. She said the state Department of Human Services changed its rules to allow clients to stay up to four days, instead of three, and the units are able to bill private insurance and Medicare for reimbursement for treatment.
"There's been a steady increase in reimbursement," Griffin said. "The $90,000 from the state plus Medicare and insurance is covering the expenses. DHS did help by increasing the time individuals are allowed to stay."
UAMS, drawing on its experience in operating the Central Arkansas unit, should be able to operate with the allowed funding, Evans said. Mental health has historically been -- and continues to be -- underfunded, Evans said.
"However, Gov. Hutchinson has remained dedicated to the opening and sustainability of the crisis units," Evan said. "Even though the funding was recently reduced, UAMS is dedicated to opening and operating these units. It just has to be done very efficiently and effectively in order to maintain a slim budget. It's not easy. But it is important."
Local law enforcement agencies were among the leading sources of referrals to the Northwest Arkansas unit while it was open.
Chief Mike Reynolds with Fayetteville's Police Department said from July 2019 when the facility opened through June 2021 when it closed, there were 1,250 people referred there for services. Of those, he said, 306 were from law enforcement agencies and 161 were from the Fayetteville Police Department.
"We were 61% of law enforcement referrals," Reynolds said.
Reynolds said his department averaged about two referrals a month that involved taking people to the Crisis Stabilization Unit in lieu of arresting them and taking them to the county jail.
While the Northwest Arkansas unit has been closed, area law enforcement has had the option of taking people to Fort Smith to the Sebastian County unit. Reynolds said the time involved for officers and the difficulty of persuading people to voluntarily be taken to Fort Smith made that option unworkable.
"The Fayetteville unit is right in our back yard," he said. "It was easier to persuade people to go there, and it didn't require the two- or three-hour round trip for our officers."
Chief Deputy Jay Cantrell with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, said diverting people with mental health needs away from incarceration in the Detention Center is about more than numbers.
"The CSU didn't take a lot of people in terms of our overall jail population," Cantrell said. "The ones they took were people who typically require more attention and resources than other detainees. County jails have kind of been a de facto mental hospital for the state. That's not what we're meant to do. I'm really excited about the CSU being back open and providing a place for those people to get the services they need."