Action Ambulance, Town Offer Wrap around Mental Health Services During the Holidays

Special to the Transcript

The holidays can be the most difficult time of the year for those struggling with mental illness. According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness, 64% of people with mental illness say the holidays cause additional stress and impact their mental health negatively. The Town of Winthrop’s CLEAR Program, Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery, is committed to helping residents struggling with mental health, substance use and domestic violence challenges by connecting them with wrap-around services. The team is comprised of public health personnel, EMS, police and fire. CLEAR team members proactively reach out to individuals to offer help, connect them with resources and offer non- clinical peer recovery support.

Meredith Hurley, Director of Public Health and Clinical Services in Winthrop, said the goal of the program is to get people help at a time when it’s difficult to connect with primary care doctors and while the EMS industry and emergency rooms are strapped. A 2023 Winthrop Community Health Needs Assessment showed when respondents were asked “what barriers were encountered when trying to access mental health support,” nearly 60 % said either availability of providers and/or the wait times to be seen. The town has strategically built this public health and public safety partnership to address non-criminal matters which includes calls for emergency services that involves mental health crisis, substance use disorder and social needs such as homelessness and food insecurity.

Mike Woronka, President and CEO of Action Ambulance Service, said the partnership is helping residents during a time of crisis and helping patients get the resources they need. “We’re seeing patients getting much needed treatment which makes them less reliant on emergency services and hospital emergency rooms. This is at the very core of our company’s mission of people helping people.”

The program is vital at a time when hospital emergency rooms are backlogged with patients causing EMS providers to sit stagnant at ER’s for hours while waiting for their patients to be seen. There is also an increase in demand for EMS services and staffing shortages industry wide. Meredith Hurley said knowing the demands on the healthcare system locally, people are defaulting to emergency rooms for care. “We aim to cross-train all sectors of public safety to equitable mental health response,” said Hurley.

Additional Resources Available:

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline | Mass.gov Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line

Community Behavioral Health Center (CBHC) – North Suffolk Community Services 24/7 Hotline: 888-309-1989

Boston Medical Center’s Community Behavioral Health Center | Boston Medical Center

With more than 40 years of service Action Ambulance Service, Inc was built on integrity. We believe in honesty, responsibility, and hard work. It is this philosophy that enables us to deliver the best service possible, as well as granting us the privilege of creating long-lasting relationships with our customers, the municipalities that we serve.

The organization was created in 1977 by David and Stanley Portman and founded on the core principles of customer loyalty and integrity. The founders’ father, Dr. Harry Portman, was a physician known for his selfless acts of kindness. Dr. Portman understood that a key element of patient care was customer service. Action Ambulance holds true to this philosophy today.

During each employee orientation, the company expresses this ingrained ideology and expects all team members to embrace the importance of the “little things” in customer service.

The Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery (CLEAR) Program was formalized in 2017 as a partnership between the Winthrop Department of Public Health & Clinical Services and the Winthrop Police Department. At the same time, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor through Boston Medical Center was brought on to offer additional support services to the community.

The team continues to evolve and is currently comprised of police, fire, and public health personnel who use police data to find and help people struggling with substance use, mental health, and domestic violence challenges. CLEAR remains committed to growing its partner net-work in Winthrop and surrounding communities to ensure accessible wrap-around services for Winthrop’s residents.