ROSELAND - A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Tuesday for the Cook County Health & Hospitals System's new pilot Community Triage Center, which officials said is the first walk-in center in Chicago for treatment of mental health issues or substance abuse.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Cook County Justice Advisory Council celebrated the opening of the new Center, at 200 E. 115th St., Tuesday.
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The center will provide intervention and stabilization services for those at-risk of detention or hospitalization due to a mental-health or substance-abuse condition.
“Substance abuse and mental health disorders are not criminal justice issues, they are health issues,” Preckwinkle said. “I’m pleased to support our health system in making investments to provide much-needed care to the most vulnerable in our communities.”
The clinic's primary services include mental health crisis assessments and stabilization, health assessments, and referrals for treatment, case management and follow-up. This is the first walk-in clinic of its kind in Chicago, officials said.
The clinic will provide walk-in services for residents age 18 and older. Also, former inmates from Cook County Jail can get follow-up care.
Cook County Health & Hospitals System is working closely with the Chicago Police Department to support officers who are transporting individuals in need of care to the clinic as an early, street-level intervention.
CCHHS is investing $3 million to open and run the clinic in 2016. CCHHS received a $348,000 planning grant from the Otho SA Sprague Institute in 2015 to support development of the clinic. The Community Triage Center has been successfully implemented in other cities in the U.S., such as Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Antonio.
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