Mental Health Disaster Response Plan
Overview
The King County Mental Health Disaster Response Plan (the Plan) relies upon the resources of the existing outpatient mental health providers, coordinated by the Regional Support Network (RSN). In order to minimize the impact of this unfunded activity to any individual agency, 16 providers plus King County Crisis and Commitment Services are called upon to volunteer at least one staff person to participate in the response. The plan is intended to be flexible. The nature and scope of the disaster dictates the type of response effort required.
The Plan is conceptualized as a two level response:
A level one response would be mobilized for a small localized disaster and would be triggered by a request, most likely from the Red Cross, for services to be provided as follow-up to their contact. Crisis Clinic (CC) is a key player in coordinating a response at this level. The Red Cross would provide CC with a brief needs assessment: the type of response needed, the number of people involved, and whether an in- or out-of-facility response is needed. If the RSN has not already been notified, the CC would contact the RSN to mobilize the network.
The network is activated by utilizing an established phone tree to contact providers. As staff are made available they are formed into teams of two or three people. Teams are dispatched to identified sites or to provide additional staff for in-facility follow-up at a designated provider agency. The resources we assemble are communicated to CC so when a victim calls in they can be directed to the appropriate resource whether it is a group debriefing, a next day appointment, a walk-in appointment, or an outreach response.
A level two response will be mobilized for a large scale disaster. For this type of disaster the King County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) would be activated. If it is a multi-county disaster the state EOC will also be activated. When the EOC is activated, the RSN will commence mobilizing providers and assembling response teams.
There are two objectives in the level two response. The first objective is to provide the response where it is needed. Information regarding the need for a Mental Health response could come from the EOC, the Red Cross, the State Mental Health Division (MHD), or others. With these requests would come information regarding the locations of individuals requiring a Mental Health disaster response- such as shelters, disaster recovery centers, churches, health clinics, etc. When locations have been identified, teams will be dispatched to respond.
The second objective is to gather documentation of Mental Health response activities. If this is a presidentially declared disaster, there could be a grant application submitted by the state MHD for a FEMA-funded crisis counseling program. Data regarding the services provided and the existing unmet need must be collected. This information is collected by the RSN and forwarded to the state for the grant application. If a crisis counseling program is funded the local provider response is completed. The ongoing response will be provided through the grant-funded 60 day program. (See FEMA Grant Program chart)
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