“We live in an age of fear of mental health crises; when movie goers may feel compelled to scan the audience before taking a seat, and a Senator files a wrongful death suit against his state to ensure that his personal tragedy is not repeated,” said RI International CEO and President David Covington. “The fact is, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, only 3-5% of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with a serious mental illness (SMI), and those with SMI are 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes than the general population. What people don’t know is that all too often those seeking help for a mental health crisis suffer for hours and even days awaiting treatment in hospital emergency rooms, as was the case for Senator Creigh Deed’s son. We created this video because we want the people of Arizona to know that this state has specifically trained and accessible behavioral health providers who immediately respond to those in crisis, and we’re working hard (and in concert) to ensure these services to all Arizonans,” added Covington.

1. “Crisis Now: What Makes Arizona Different” Video
Highlights Arizona’s Revolutionary Mental Health Crisis Services
November 11, 2016, 3 pm Mountain Standard Time
PHOENIX — “We live in an age of fear of mental health crises; when movie goers may feel compelled to scan the
audience before taking a seat, and a Senator files a wrongful death suit against his state to ensure that his personal
tragedy is not repeated,” said RI International CEO and President David Covington. “The fact is, as the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services states, only 3-5% of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with
a serious mental illness (SMI), and those with SMI are 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes than the
general population. What people don’t know is that all too often those seeking help for a mental health crisis suffer for
hours and even days awaiting treatment in hospital emergency rooms, as was the case for Senator Creigh Deed’s
son. We created this video because we want the people of Arizona to know that this state has specifically trained and
accessible behavioral health providers who immediately respond to those in crisis, and we’re working hard (and in
concert) to ensure these services to all Arizonans,” added Covington.
Covington said the idea for the video sprang from his work as a co-lead for the Crisis Now initiative in partnership with
the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, and added that the video showcases multiple nonprofit behavioral
health providers in Arizona who have no formal business affiliations. “In the for-profit world we would be considered
competitors, but when you’re in the “business” of saving lives, that sort of thinking goes out the window,” said
Covington. “These providers share an extremely important, life-saving and society-improving purpose, and we
wanted to shine a light on the innovations in crisis services occurring right now in facilities across Arizona.”
Unprecedented Community Partnerships
Dr. Margie Balfour, a nationally recognized expert in crisis services, is with ConnectionsAZ, a physician-owned
organization providing facility-based crisis services in metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson. She is the Chief Clinical
Officer at the Crisis Response Center (CRC) in Tucson, which is featured in the video. “Emergency rooms and jails

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are not equipped to care for people with behavioral health needs, and they can languish there for hours or even days
without treatment. People need to get to a safe and secure environment where they can quickly get in front of
behavioral health professionals who can provide them with the help they need.” Located within the Banner University
Medical Center South Campus, the CRC was built with Pima County bond funds in order to create an alternative to
jails and hospital emergency rooms and provides emergency psychiatric care to 12,000 adults and 2,400 children
annually. “We work with mobile crisis services, EMTs, and law enforcement, and together we’re able to serve
thousands of individuals brought directly to our crisis centers so that they get help need immediately. With rapid
assessment and stabilization, over 60% of patients who would otherwise board in an ER or jail to are able to instead
transition to less-restrictive and less-costly community-based care.”
Community Bridges Inc. (CBI), headquartered in Mesa, delivers services in 15 cities throughout Arizona, including
many rural areas. It’s President and CEO Dr. Frank Scarpati, said he wholeheartedly agrees with Dr. Balfour, and
adds that 12 key law enforcement leaders serve on CBI’s Board of Directors. “Each year, our five facility-based Crisis
Stabilization Units accept 40,000-50,000 entries, while our CBI Crisis Response Teams divert more than 4,000
individuals out of hospital Emergency Rooms, 1,400 are diverted by police and 1,500 by Fire Departments directly to
CBI facilities, saving our communities millions of dollars in ER costs and creating additional capacity in our hospitals
by freeing up bed space and decreasing wait times.”
Mobile Crisis Teams Travel to Those in Need (Avoids Hospital ER)
Also featured in the video is La Frontera EMPACT’s program located in Tempe, Arizona. Founded in
1987, Emergency Mobile Pediatric & Adolescent Crisis Teams - Suicide Prevention Center (EMPACT-SPC), provides
suicide prevention, crisis intervention, counseling, substance abuse, trauma healing, and prevention programming to
individuals and families in Maricopa and Pinal Counties. Its crisis teams are dispatched and respond immediately to
an individual when and wherever the individual is located at the time of the crisis, whether that be the street, jail,
social service agency, or an apartment or home.
Crisis Call Centers Conduct the Orchestra
The services of the Crisis Response Network (CRN) in Tempe which support Central and Northern Arizona and
Centene’s Nursewise Call Center in Tucson are also highlighted in the video. Both organizations provide clinical
professionals using high-tech tools to coordinate care, track data and provide evidence of measured outcomes. CRN
provides crisis contact center services 24/7/365, 24-hour peer-operated warm line, Serious Mental Illness (SMI)
determinations, telephonic follow up, tragedy support, specialized crisis lines, and dispatch services for mobile crisis
teams, crisis transportation, Department of Child Services (DCS) rapid response and stabilization services.
NurseWise's Behavioral Health Professionals, Behavioral Health Technicians and Registered Nurses assist
consumers with acute behavioral health and physical health symptoms, 24/7, including scheduling intake
appointments and dispatching mobile crisis teams to provide in-home or in-office assessment and support.

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Peer Supports and Trauma Informed Care
RI International, headquartered in Phoenix is a global organization offering crisis, health, recovery and consulting
services through 50+ programs located throughout the U.S. and abroad. Covington said RI’s Crisis Services have
been rapidly expanding, adding four additional crisis facilities this year to its array of Recovery Response Centers (for
crisis stabilization), Evaluation and Treatment Centers (for involuntary and court-ordered treatment) and Crisis
Respites (voluntary longer-term treatment). RI is well-known for its “living room model” of care, which focuses on
providing peer-support, meaning staff with lived experience work alongside clinicians. “We work to make our facilities
feel more like a comfortable living room or resort, rather than an institution. Our staff is not separated from guests by
Plexiglas. We do this to help lessen stigma and provide healing spaces, welcoming environments conducive to de-
escalation,” said Covington. “Last year in our Arizona crisis stabilization programs we diverted more than 3,000
individuations with a mental health crisis away from costly hospital visits, never refusing a law-enforcement drop-off.”
Covington said the Crisis Now: What Makes Arizona Different video was produced by David Shapiro Enterprises, and
will officially premiere at the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) 50th
annual conference next spring in
Phoenix, but will be shared publicly via social media in early 2017. He also thanked Rabideau Consulting for their
national leadership and role in initially bringing the stakeholders together leading to the video.
CONTACT:
www.RIInternational.com
Carole Pfeil
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
Direct: 602.636.4502
Cell: 262.623.4054
carole.pfeil@riinternational.com