Alliance Healthcare Services was recently awarded the Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations Innovation Award for their CARE Program (Crisis Assessment Response to Emergencies). The CARE program, in partnership with the City of Memphis Police and Fire departments, responds to people in crisis who also have mental health issues. Oftentimes, the CARE team unit is sent to crisis situations before police and ambulance services arrive on the scene.
“I couldn’t be happier for our great partner, Alliance Health Services, on this well-deserved distinction,” Mayor Jim Strickland said. “Through the CARE team unit, we’ve been able to deescalate high-pressure situations before they turn into potentially dangerous encounters. These kinds of services are invaluable to the work the men and women of Memphis Fire and Police do each day.”
The Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations (TAMHO) is a statewide trade association representing Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) and other non-profit corporations that provide behavioral health services. The Innovation & Creativity Award recognizes ways TAMHO member organizations have gone above and beyond the standard to find creative and groundbreaking ways to provide services. Honoring these programs demonstrates that excellence, innovation and quality are alive and well in the public behavioral health system.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious award and look forward to continuing to serve our community and growing our partnerships with the Memphis Police and Fire Departments,” said CEO of Alliance Healthcare Services Laurie Powell.
The CARE program was created in 2018 after Alliance Healthcare Services received funding from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (TDMHSAS) for The Pre-Arrest Diversion Infrastructure Project (PADIP). This funding was intended to help divert individuals with mental health and substance abuse needs from unnecessary jail incarceration.
Alliance Healthcare Services is the largest comprehensive behavioral health provider in Shelby County delivering outpatient, intensive outpatient, home-based, and community based programs, including a continuum of crisis services to over 22,000 residents.