Strategy in works to sustain mental health walk-in center beyond June 30, 2026

Plans are in the works to develop a long-term strategy to sustain the regional walk-in center at 1100 S. Cameron St., Harrisburg, that provides crisis intervention services to residents of Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties.

From the start, the expectation is that center would be funded long-term through private insurance and Medicaid once a $13.1 million state start-up grant has been depleted.

In late 2023, commissioners in all three counties accepted the grant, which was made available through the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Regional walk-in, crisis center could open on Dec. 4

A regional walk-in center to provide crisis intervention services to residents of Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties could open in Harrisburg on Dec. 4.

The partnership among the counties is being administered through a memo of understanding. Connections Health Solutions was hired to operate the programs that started up in December 2024.

“At this point, we still have about $3 million left in the grant,” Annie Strite, mental health director for Cumberland County, said last week. “The state office has given us permission to spend that through the end of this fiscal year – June 30, 2026.

“Currently, Connection receives an alternative payment arrangement with Perform Care, our Medicaid managed care company,” Strite said. “It’s a monthly payment to help offset the expenses. Between the grant and Perform Care payments, they are doing fine.”

Connections have a staff member working on third-party contracts with the goal of lining up enough revenue from other sources to fully sustain the operation once the grant money spent, Strite said.

Regional crisis center helped more than 600 people in first two months of operation

Between its mobile units and walk-in services, a regional center in Harrisburg has helped 617 people in its first two months of operations.

Last week, Brittney McCarthy, a strategic account manager for Connections, briefed Cumberland County commissioners on the latest statistics pertaining to the walk-in center.

Since programs started, staff has seen about 1,300 Cumberland County residents through Aug. 31, McCarthy said. The services can take the form of mobile response units dispatched to calls through 911, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and crisis teams operating in each county.

People walking into the center are met by a staff member who provides a needs assessment within 90 minutes of that person’s arrival. If the needs can be met on an outpatient basis, a plan would be put in place and that person would be discharged.

If the needs exceed the urgent care model, the person would be moved into observation where a multidisciplinary team provides treatment services for up to 24 hours. The goal is to stabilize and discharge the person with a follow-up plan in place. But if the person requires a higher level of care, staff coordinate the case with inpatient units in hospitals.

Cumberland County mental health services looks to cut $1.2 million from its budget

Faced with a deficit, Cumberland County mental health services seeks to cut $1.2 million

Nine months into the center’s operation, there’s still a significant number of individuals who are being evaluated by county crisis teams at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill, McCarthy said.

She said there are opportunities to educate these people about the walk-in center in the hope of directing them in the future to more immediate care than what the hospital emergency room could provide.

“Changing the attitude in the community, that’s long-term,” Cumberland County commissioner Gary Eichelberger said last week. “A lot of people have always identified Holy Spirit as a place to go. That’s not going to be fixed overnight.”

Kimberly Jones, vice president of clinical operations for Connections, agreed. “We have to retrain the community on why Connections can provide services at minute one,” she said.

“We have to take into consideration EMS transports,” McCarthy said. “There’s a barrier in Pennsylvania. The EMS language [in state law] does not allow for drop-offs and payment at an alternative location than a hospital. Our government affairs representative is working with the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania to look at how we can advocate for a change of this language.”

There is another barrier between Connections and some police departments in Cumberland County, McCarthy said. “They are short-staffed. Depending on location, they cannot make the 40-minute drive [into Harrisburg] to drop off [a person in crisis]. The drive takes them out of their town.”

National Suicide Prevention Hotline number

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