Mental health hot line going statewide soon
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
The state Department of Health's five-month-old mental health services access line will extend its outreach by going statewide by the end of the month, an official said.
• O'ahu residents can obtain referrals to public and private mental health services at 832-3100. • By the end of the month, a toll-free number, (800) 75-ENTRY, will be available for Neighbor Island residents.
The access line, an expanded version of the former Suicide and Crisis Center hot line, was established for O'ahu residents on Sept. 5 after the department shifted its financial support from the center's hot line to create the new hot line.
Help referrals
Callers are directed to a host of mental health services, including help in dealing with depression, suicidal tendencies and children with behavioral problems.
"The access line is really a standardized approach to manage all calls for entry into mental health and crisis services," said Edna Magpantay-Monroe, access and assessment supervisor of the Health Department's Adult Mental Health Division, which oversees the program.
Helping Hands Hawai'i ran the hot line for more than 20 years and is still on contract with the state through the end of the month to help ease the transition, which has been quite smooth, with few problems, if any, said Jane Maxwell, deputy program director of Helping Hands.
"In the first month or so, it was a little unclear about how to handle calls ... but we continued to have meetings to make sure we were working in tandem with each other," Maxwell said.
"Like all changes, you have your challenges, but we've been able to work through those things."
While the Suicide and Crisis Center hot line remains active until the end of the month, the staff has been referring some callers to the new access line, depending on the nature of the calls.
About 14,000 calls have been made to the access line since its inception in September. It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and staffed by 15 screeners with experience in the mental health field, including registered nurses and those with advanced degrees in social work.
"I'm really very excited because I think with this new system, we are working to make sure to put together the access and assessment process, and to provide effective and efficient services to our patients," Magpantay-Monroe said.
