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Mental Health patients trust MMT

Posted on Apr 18, 2010 by MMT   |  

If you or somebody you know has ever experienced severe instability or any number of mental disorders, than you know the last thing they need is to travel to their place of rehab or help in the back of a police car. Yet, that’s often the case.

Although our society has come a long way in recognizing and caring for these patients, most people really have no idea about the process until they experience it first hand. MMT doesn’t play a part in the evaluation or placement of these patients. But we do play a very important roll. There are many points of entry into the system for those who need help. Some are brought in by ambulance; some by family members or police and others walk in and ask for help. Some of these individuals receive outpatient care with counseling, medications and other forms of support. But for those who have been determined by a physician to be either a threat to the safety of themselves or others, they find placement for them in an inpatient mental health program. Some of these programs are in state facilities; others are in private ones often many miles away. In many counties, the transport to these facilities is handled in the back of a police car. The intention is not to treat them as criminals, but to be sure that they are safely transported to a program that can help them. Some counties use local ambulance services. However, ambulances are over equipped, extremely costly and aren’t outfitted with appropriate door locks to prevent unstable patients from fleeing!

Luckily, for patients in the town where we are based, the local Sherriff’s office and the county in which they operate, decided on a more cost effective and compassionate method of transportation. They contract with MMT. Instead of a police car, these patients who need specialized care are transported in comfortable vans with satellite radio, reclining seats and two people with medical or law enforcement backgrounds to accompany them. No police car barrier. No personnel with guns and badges. Patients are calmer, more compliant, and view us as a bridge to their treatment rather than a threat.

Because MMT utilizes experienced personnel with backgrounds in EMS and law enforcement, these patients experience a comfortable, safe method of transport with the added benefit of competent experienced companions along the way.

Tagged: medical transportation, patient transportation, non emergency transport, stretcher transport, cross country medical transportation, georgia mental health transport, mentally unstable patient transport, safe medical transport