New program will focus on urgent care

Since graduating with a psychology degree from the University of Kansas in 1995, Nicole Rials has had a strong interest in crisis-related programs. She also loves collaboration between community partners.

Her new position – director of the Urgent Care Program at the Bert Nash Center – affords her the chance to be involved with both.

“I’ve always been very interested in urgent care, crisis-type work, whether it’s mental health, physical health, or corrections,” Rials said. “I’m also excited about the opportunity to work with other partnering agencies. And, the programming piece is exciting. To see these countywide mental health initiatives gain momentum and people supporting mental health services is exciting. I like being a part of that.”

The Urgent Care Program will be involved with other mental health services such as the Bert Nash jail team and state hospital discharge team, the recently implemented behavioral health court, a proposed 24/7 crisis intervention center and the crisis side of the Bert Nash Access Center.

“We already have partnerships with the Douglas County Jail, behavioral health court, the Lawrence Police Department’s new mental health team, and each of those programs is growing and expanding and there is a growing need for more crisis-focused programs,” Rials said.

Other community partners include Lawrence Memorial Hospital, DCCCA and Heartland Community Health Center.

“There are multiple agencies involved,” Rials said. “And Bert Nash and the Urgent Care Program are excited to partner with these other agencies. These are programs that are designed to help people when they are in a state of urgency, and we’re hoping for more opportunities to grow these programs over the coming years.”

Before becoming director of the Urgent Care Program in January, Rials was team leader of the Access Center, which is the entry point for all clients coming to Bert Nash for services, including those in crisis.

The Urgent Care Program is part of a coordinated response that will provide services for people who are experiencing a mental health crisis, with a focus on those who have been hospitalized or incarcerated.

“These are people who are in some sort of urgent situation where they need some interventions and they need more services wrapped around them, whether they are coming out of the state hospital, or if they have been incarcerated, or if they are in the community and need the mental health team, there’s an immediacy to it and all of those situations can require an urgent-care approach,” Rials said.

Rials said her position came about because of an increasing need in the community for the establishment and development of crisis-focused programs. No doubt she will want to develop these programs while also making members of the community aware of the ways that they can financially cover urgent care.

“There is a growing need for crisis services, and with the expansion of the county’s behavioral health initiatives, that was the impetus behind the Urgent Care Program,” Rials said. “I am excited to be a part of the Bert Nash executive leadership team that is working to meet the evolving needs of our community and partnership agencies."