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HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS  I  SEP / OCT 2022 45 Lisa Weber-Curry, DPC, LPC-S, MA Director, Behavioral Health Services Louisiana Healthcare Connections SOURCES 1 Beck, J.; Reuland, M.; Pope, Leah. “Behavioral Health Crisis Alternatives: Shifting from Police to Community Responses.” Vera Institute of Jus- tice. Nov. 2020. www.vera.org/behavioral-health- crisis-alternatives 2 Widgery, A.; et al. “The Legislative Primer Series for Front End Justice: Mental Health.” Nation- al Conference of State Legislatures. Aug. 2018. www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-jus- tice/the-legislative-primer-series-on-front-end- justice-mental-health.aspx 3 Laderman, M.; et al. “Tackling The Mental Health Crisis In Emergency Departments: Look Up- stream For Solutions.” Health Affairs Forefront. Jan. 26, 2018. www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/ forefront.20180123.22248/full/ 4 “Mental Health in Louisiana.” Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed Aug. 3, 2022. www.kff.org/ statedata/mental-health-and-substance-use- state-fact-sheets/louisiana 5 “What is Serious Mental Illness?” American Psychiatric Association, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SMI Ad- visor. www.smiadviser.org/about/serious-mental- illness 6 “LDH Business Plan Fiscal Year 2022.” Loui- siana Department of Health. www.ldh.la.gov/ businessplan ABaton Rouge native,LisaWeber-Curry,DPC,LPC-S, MA, brings a background in behavioral health and a strong passion for community service. She began her career as a psychotherapist with the Department of Corrections where she supported rehabilitation and community transition operations for incarcer- ated youth while also serving in the Louisiana Army National Guard.Before joining Louisiana Healthcare Connections, she was an executive director of As- cension Counseling Center with the Parish ofAscen- sion in Gonzales where she trained and supervised a broad team of clinical staff in the delivery of behav- ioral health services to families,groups,couples,and individuals of all ages. treatment needs, and coordinating services with local providers. • Behavioral Health Crisis Centers (BHCC) : Facility-based services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through walk-in centers pro- viding short-term behavioral health crisis intervention. • Crisis Stabilization : Short-term, bed- based crisis treatment and support for anyone who has received a lower level of crisis service and who is at risk of hospitalization or institution- alization. Healthy Louisiana Medicaid recipients who are 21 and older and able to volun- tarily receive services can benefit from cri- sis response support provided by trained practitioners in a community-based set- ting that is most appropriate for their needs. They can also avoid a long wait in the ED, a potentially forceful and escalat- ed exchange with law enforcement, as well as leverage the ability to engage a family member, friend, or their pastor during the initial response. With the engaged support of providers and trust in the new system, Medicaid recipients will now be able to re- ceive care that puts intervention and help over coercion and control. n partner agencies, and nationally recog- nized crisis experts, the Louisiana Crisis Response System represents a progressive paradigm shift in how the state has begun helping Medicaid enrollees experiencing a mental health crisis. Rather than relying on a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the new system builds on the unique strengths, resources, and needs of local communi- ties. Emphasizing recovery and resiliency based on a person-centered approach, the system relies on modern innovation and coordinated services comprised of four core components: • Mobile Crisis Response (MCR) : An initial community-based mobile cri- sis response intended to provide re- lief, resolution, and intervention to individuals where they are located through crisis supports and services during the first phase of a crisis in the community. • Community Brief Crisis Support (CBCS) : An ongoing crisis interven- tion response given for up to 15 days and designed to provide relief and resolution by keeping the member “in place” — at home or in their commu- nity — and by de-escalating behav- ioral health needs, referring them for “Too often, encounters between the police and people in crisis end in handcuffs with an enforcement action or emergency department transport that lacks a referral to the long-term treatment and supports needed to thrive.”