Starting June 3, Family & Children’s Services (FCS) and MedWise Urgent Care Center will partner to provide immediate mental health crisis services at 12 MedWise centers in the Tulsa area. These interventions will be delivered by the Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services (COPES), a program of FCS. MedWise patients experiencing a mental health crisis can access these services on-site through COPES telehealth.
“MedWise has been an incredible partner,” said Krista Lewis, Chief Program Officer, Adult Mental Health, Medical & Crisis Services at FCS. “Through this new collaboration, MedWise is creating opportunities for COPES to assist medical providers in delivering comprehensive crisis care. This initiative aims to save lives and connect individuals in our community to ongoing services, fostering hope and healing within our community. Together, we are making a profound impact, ensuring that individuals in crisis receive the help they need when they need it most.”
Collaborating with MedWise medical professionals, COPES mental health crisis therapists will be available to conduct assessments, develop crisis stabilization plans (including mobile responses) and assist with higher levels of care if necessary. COPES, one of 72 FCS programs, provides free and confidential telephone crisis help and mobile crisis services for children and adults in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
“We are thrilled about this community partnership and it allows us to provide the next level of care in our clinics,” said Dr. Jon Hamilton, Regional Medical Director of MedWise. “With mental health conditions increasing year to year, we believe that it is important for MedWise to lean on the mental health professionals of COPES for our patients who need it. We will not only be able to help our patients heal physically but also get them connected to professionals who will provide help to heal mentally.”
FCS’s partnership with MedWise supports MedWise’s goal to provide helpful and empathetic care to its patients. As urgent care providers, MedWise medical professionals encounter individuals experiencing mental health crises. In its endeavor to find ways to help, MedWise recognized COPES’s ability to intervene in crisis situations and provide expertise in mental health crisis management, assisting both the provider and the individual in devising a safety plan. COPES will also be prepared to assist with accessing a high level of care when necessary or with navigating a connection to outpatient services.
