NCHC Assists Local Emergency Responders with Crisis Intervention Training

During the week of Feb 27, 2017, thirty local responders, including law enforcement officers, jail officers, crisis workers, dispatchers, and judges participated in a 40-hour crisis intervention training. A Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is a model for community monitoring that brings together law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency departments and individuals with mental illness and their families to improve responses to people in crisis. CIT programs enhance communication, identify mental health resources for assisting people in crisis and ensure that officers get the training and support that they need. This group not only learned about mental disorders, but they also learned about verbal de-escalation tactics, self-care, and completed a full day of mock scenarios to practice their skills.

Many of our North Central Health Care employees contributed to the training, including: Bob Wilcox, Cagney Marten, Merry Wimmer, LaureAnn Blanchard, Michelle Jensen, Brenda Christian, Jen Comfort, Tricia Klemp, Ash Wilkinson, Michelle Carr, Judy Yang, Kurt Swenson, April Scott, Michelle Gleason and Mike Frankel.

Pictured: Michelle Jensen (Outpatient Services) presenting on Anxiety and Personality Disorders.