EHN staff with our Crisis Intervention Team responded with our partners in the El Paso Police Department within minutes after the shooting, to assist other law enforcement agencies and residents trying to make sense of the chaos that erupted that morning.
We know the healing will take time, but EHN is dedicated to putting our residents first. As we continue to mourn and our community continues to rebuild, EHN will continue to play a vital role in this important process.
The EHN Crisis Hotline also proved beneficial following the incident. Shortly after the shooting, our crisis operators fielded more than double the amount of calls from people needing help. To this day, the 24-hour hotline is utilized by those still experiencing challenging feelings linked to the shooting.
other community partners, launched a new informational campaign designed to let El Pasoans know help is available when dealing with the August 3rd tragedy. Through the use of a new year-long multi-media campaign, victims, families, first responders and the entire community are encouraged to seek support when coping with psychological and emotional effects associated with the mass shooting.
El Paso will overcome the devastation and loss that impacted so many in our region that Saturday morning. We are El Paso Strong. Together we are stronger and together we will recover. With outreach, education and partnerships, Emergence will continue to lead the way and ensure the behavioral health needs of our community remains a top priority.
To view the specially produced videos featuring local residents speaking about their feeling of loss and healing and more importantly encouraging others to be El Paso Strong, see videos below.
EHN is Committed to Staying El Paso Strong.
Behavioral Health Visit
In 2019 EHN conducted a comprehensive community report focused on the impact of the MST program. The results were encouraging and found that since the program’s conception in 2012, more than 90 percent of individuals enrolled have avoided rearrests and stayed in school.
To learn more
Behavioral Health Visit
The Mental Health Learning Library is designed to increase mental health education and training through free one-hour courses to businesses, school districts, church groups and anyone who wants to learn more about topics such as:
Suicide Prevention
Grief Management
Self-Harm Prevention
Anxiety Management
Mental Health First Aid
Stress Management
To learn more
Behavioral Health Visit
The outcome is a living document which local providers can update as changes in service provisions occurs.
To learn more
Behavioral Health Visit
In 2019 CIT officers in El Paso requested city wide calls for services ranging from dispatched calls, follow up calls and requests from patrol who are on the scene of a situation involving a person with a mental illness.
Dispatched calls = 3907
Observed calls = 1274
Adults checked = 3020
Juveniles checked = 200
Behavioral Health Visit
The EHN/UTEP partnership is also impacting students seeking careers in the in the mental health field. EHN established a collaboration with the UTEP Rehabilitative Sciences Department to provide additional educational opportunities for students on a track towards Qualified Mental Health Professional Certification.
This initiative helps directly with the shortage of mental health providers not only in the El Paso area but throughout the United States as well.
Behavioral Health Visit
Behavioral health leaders from across the country traveled to our community for the two-day conference. This opportunity allowed EHN to showcase various aspects of El Paso’s behavioral health care system on a national level and share the mental health challenges unique to our border area.
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Mental Health Authority?
- Planning, policy development
- Coordination (including coordination with criminal justice entities)
- Resource allocation
- Resource development
and oversight of mental health and IDD services in the most appropriate and available setting to meet individuals needs in our service area.
To learn more about EHN's role in our community
Our mental health needs continue to grow, and I am proud of the County's collaboration with Emergence to build resilience and strength for our community for years to come. The County thanks the leadership and staff at EHN for their dedicated service to El Paso to create a healthy community, addressing our needs with compassion and care."
As a partner of University Medical Center of El Paso, EHN was by our side during the most difficult days of this past year, almost immediately after the mass shooting of August 3rd, 2019.
Partnerships, lasting relationships and knowing when to do the right thing are the hallmarks of well-meaning organizations. They are also very common in El Paso and this is especially true for EHN. On Aug. 3, our staff at UMC, were among the first confronted with the victims of that day. Even as a trauma hospital, where we are used to seeing difficult cases on a daily basis, this was an extremely challenging day, followed by weeks. We were impacted as an organization as well as individually. However, EHN was there for us, for our patients and families, making counselors available for anyone who needed it.
UMC is home to our region's only Level 1 Trauma Center. Each day of 2019 we worked to bring our region the best care possible, saving lives and healing the sick. It was good to have our partner, Emergence Health Network, with us, shoulder to shoulder, each and every day, for our community. It was good to know that when tragedy struck our city, Emergence Health Network was there, bringing support, to first responders and all.
As chair of EHN’s Board of Trustees, I am proud to look back at some of this past year’s accomplishments.
- For FY19 the organization’s financial position remained very strong with the organization overperforming in several key budget indicators.
- Our Joint Commission reaccreditation for three years indicates EHN’s continued commitment to quality.
- The board and staff renewed its commitment to technology infrastructure with a complete electronic health record conversion that allows for richer data collection and gathering capabilities.
- EHN launched a Mental Health Learning Library to offer an array of trainings to the community to include stress management, suicide prevention and grief coping skills.
- The National Council on Behavioral Health selected EHN and El Paso as the site to host Health Care Disparities Conference. Health care professionals from across the nation gathered in El Paso to discuss issues related to mental health access.
On behalf of my fellow trustees, I wish everyone a fruitful new decade.
David Driscoll
EHN Board Chair
Chair
Vice-Chair
Secretary
This past year was a landmark on several fronts. Our continued partnerships with key organizations and stakeholders continue to yield favorable results; Our partners in law enforcement improve and innovate services for persons with a mental health illness in the justice system. EHN has also begun exciting new prospects with educational institutions that will improve access to services and bring new educational opportunities to students interested in pursuing careers in behavioral health.
Of course no discussion on this past year without addressing the tragic events of August 3rd. El Paso will continue to heal from these tragic shootings of some of their own for years to come, yet I am proud to say that EHN rose to the occasion and met the needs of El Pasoans from minutes after the shooting until today. Every member of our staff stood up with courage and conviction to ensure victims, families, first responders and the entire community had the services and supports that were so vitally required.
As I look back on the year, It is with pride for our staff and their commitment because it is because of them that Emergence Health Network is now looked upon as a national model for community mental health crisis response. And it is also with hope that behavioral health continues to flourish in our community because there is still much work left to do as we continue to build a world class system of care.
I extend my deepest thanks to everyone who has made our success possible this year and I look forward to even more in 2020.
Kristi Daugherty,
EHN Chief Executive Officer
LISW, LCSW, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Associate Chief
Executive Officer
Chief of Staff
Chief Medical Officer
Chief Medical Officer Primary Care and Addiction Services
Chief Nursing Officer
LPC, MBA
Chief Clinical Officer
Chief Compliance Officer
Chief Information Officer
Legal Counsel
Crisis and Emergency Services
Crisis Extended Observation Unit
Central Outpatient MH Services
Westside Mental Health and Primary Care Clinic
East Valley Outpatient Clinic
Intellectual/Developmental Disability (IDD) Clinic
Justice Involved/Jail Diversion Programs
Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Addiction Services - OSAR
(IDD) Residential Home - Casa Norton
(IDD) Residential Home - Casa De La Promesa
(IDD) Residential Home - Su Casa
Mental Health Residential Home - Siesta Gardens
Veterans One Stop Center
Alternatives at Emergence Health Network
Counseling
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Programs (ChAMHPs)
EHN Alternative Outpatient Clinic
EHN IDD Learning Center
