Gov. Bill Haslam has named Johnson Mental Health Center as Hamilton County’s sole provider of state-subsidized crisis services, slighting Fortwood Center in the process.
Center dispatchers are trained to talk people down from dangerous situations such as suicide or domestic violence that could lead to jail or hospitalization.
Historically, both agencies have provided crisis hot lines and other mental health options to Hamilton County residents, using the Tennessee River to divide the county into northern and southern service areas, according to Larry Thompson, chief operating officer of Johnson Mental Health Center.
But that policy changed under Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. As part of a push to consolidate and streamline government, one agency lost state funding.
In selecting Johnson Mental Health, the state considered “toll-free telephone triage capability and intervention,” future plans for technology use and documentation of crisis call information, records show.