BOZEMAN — Did you know that one in five U.S adults experience mental illness? Which is why Bozeman Health has recently introduced a walk-in clinic offering mental health services. So, let's talk about mental health in the Gallatin Valley.
I asked Erin Taylor, the crisis intervention team coordinator for the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, if mental illness is something we see a lot of here in Gallatin County.
“Oh yeah. Throughout nationwide. It’s not just us,” says Taylor.
For the last three years, Taylor has worked firsthand with folks struggling with mental illness as the crisis intervention team coordinator.
“We average as a community about 200-300 mental health calls a month,” Taylor informed me.
That number might come as a shock to some people. Taylor tells me in the past, there haven’t been many options for mental health services in this area.
“We go on these calls; it’s heightened emotions. And in order to gain rapport with someone? You really need to get into their world and be a part of their solution. When you do that? And then you bring them to a resource that doesn't give them help. It just causes moral distress,” says Taylor.
An issue Bozeman Health recognized.
“Our community has had a need for as long as I can remember. But there's definitely an increase in need as we’re seeing our community grow and develop,” says Nicole Madden.
Madden has been with Bozeman Health since 2014 and is currently the system director of behavioral health.
“It’s all part of the whole-person care. Mental health really is just health,” she says.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness, but one in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness. And considering Montana has ranked top five for suicide rates in the nation for the past 40 years, Bozeman Health decided it was time for a new approach.
“The walk-in clinic was started as a pilot program, to really just see if it met a need for the community,” says Madden.
Run by a team, including three inpatient psychiatrists, this clinic is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Madden tells me this clinic opened in late September and has already seen around 35 patients seeking care.
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“If you feel like you need some level of support for your mental health? Always just come in. Even if it feels really small to you, or feels really big? We’ll help you determine what your right options would look like and what your next steps could look like,” says Madden.
A service Taylor thinks will be extremely beneficial to our community.
“It’s definitely going to make a difference. We won’t see it directly for law enforcement because we see them at the apex of it. But you know, when they’re getting their medication and getting therapy? That helps us not even see them on their apex,” says Taylor.
The clinic is operated out of Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center, in their main behavioral health clinic. That’s on the 3rd floor of the cancer center, which you can access through Entrance 7.
And if you need emergency mental health service? Madden tells me Bozeman Health still offers 24/7 help, adjacent to the emergency department at their psychiatric services.
If you, or someone you know are in crisis and want help, please call, text, or chat the Montana Crisis Lifeline, 24/7, at 988.
