Sedgwick County commissioners have agreed to continue a pilot program that has a special team responding to mental health related cases in the Wichita area.
The Integrated Care Team, or ICT, consists of a COMCARE worker, a law enforcement officer and a paramedic. A team was active from July 30th to October 31st and EMS director Dr. John Gallagher said the team treated 205 patients and spent an average of three hours per patient. He said the team was able to treat 51 percent of patients in place, while 16 percent were transferred to a different local resource, such as EMS or law enforcement.
Dr. Gallagher said the pilot program has allowed a total of 329 public safety resources such as law enforcement units, fire units and ambulances to respond to other emergencies. The team was able to prevent 114 visits to the COMCARE Crisis Center and 92 trips to emergency rooms.
Dr. Gallagher said the Wichita Police Department has agreed to continue the pilot program, and the Sedgwick County sheriff’s office has expressed an interest in participating. He said the team was disbanded after the pilot program ended, but it can be reactivated in December.
Commissioners have agreed to extend the program indefinitely to gather more data and then determine if it will become permanent.
