BROOKINGS – Brookings Behavioral Health & Wellness made its case for $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding at Tuesday’s work session of the Brookings City Council.

Executive Director Mary Beth Fishback said The Ivy Center at 211 Fourth St., which houses the organization, has every square inch of its roughly 6,000-square-foot space being utilized, and that expansion is a necessity. To that end, two phases are planned.

“Building to the north and west initially would allow us to remain operational in our existing structure, so we would limit the disruption to our staff and our clients,” Fishback said. “(That) is important because having a known place for our clients to come and something that is consistent is really important for us.”

The second phase, she said, would involve the renovation of the existing structure and a final build out to the west. During this time, staff and operations would be housed in the structures built during phase one.

Once completed, the renovated and expanded Ivy Center would be just under 20,000 square feet – enough room for a 25-person staff that has outgrown the current building, which was constructed in 1976. Fishback noted that the renovation/expansion would also allow for designated office space for all of her staff along with more group space, for such things as community education and parenting classes, of which there currently is very little of.

She estimated the overall cost of the project would be $3.6 million, adding that the goal is to receive a total of $2.4 million in ARPA funds from the city of Brookings and Brookings County – at $1.2 million apiece – while using a private capital campaign for the remaining $1.2 million.

As for a rough project timeline, Fishback said she is aiming for bidding in the first quarter of 2023, with the goal of construction starting in the second quarter of 2023 continuing through the second quarter of 2024, with everything being operational in the second quarter of 2024.

Unique factors

Fishback added that, when it comes to the ARPA funding request, there are several things that make Brookings Behavioral Health & Wellness unique, including the fact that it provides services regardless of a client’s ability to pay.

“As a community mental health center, that’s one of our tenets – we don’t turn anyone away,” she said.

Fishback said that it does leave the center with a significant amount of non-reimbursable services for things that it doesn’t get paid back for, even after accounting the fact that it has access to state contract dollars and is able to bill Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and some private pay programs.

Other points of uniqueness mentioned by Fishback include:

• The Brookings facility is one of 11 community mental health centers designated across South Dakota.

• The center is an independent 501(c)(3) organization operated by 12-member board.

•  The center is accredited by South Dakota’s Division of Behavioral Health. Basically, this means every two years the center has an accreditation review by the state accreditation team, and that team accredits for both mental health and substance abuse services, of which the center has fully licensed providers in both areas.

• The center also has strict outcome measure reporting to the state, with clinical outcomes reported every quarter along with administrative outcomes. A full agency accreditation review takes place every two years, where items such as employee files, policy manuals and all of their clinical documentation are examined.

“… We’re held to a very high standard in terms of our clinical documentation, our outcomes and reporting back to the state on quality of the services that are provided,” Fishback said.

She also noted that one of the center’s key goals is getting the “time to first appointment” to under seven days. It’s a goal they’re now achieving, after an influx of referrals during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a wait of up to 15 days before a client could get their first appointment.

“That is something that is very important to us in terms of getting clients in to see clinical providers, whether that be for counseling or medication management,” Fishback said.

On top of all that, the center is the only one that provides 24/7/365 crisis services to Brookings County, both for mental and substance abuse crises. Fishback said they partner very closely with the Brookings Police Department, the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office and jail and Brookings Health System.

‘Incredible growth’

Fishback also offered some thought-provoking numbers regarding crisis services so far this year. From January to June, the center provided 217 hours of direct crisis service, 382 crisis service calls and 499 individuals served. In comparison, for all of 2021, the center provided 240 hours to direct crisis service, answered 408 crisis service calls and helped 573 individuals.

She added that the center might need additional clinical staff going into this upcoming school year based on what they’re hearing in terms of needs and referrals that they’re already receiving.

“There is incredible growth in need for mental health and substance abuse services, and our ability to provide those services to the community in a safe and confidential way really hinges on our ability to have a structure that supports what we do,” Fishback said. “We want people to feel welcome and safe and comfortable when they come to our building. We want them to come into an office and know that their privacy is protected, their confidentiality is protected, and in our current structure that’s incredibly difficult.”

Reactions

City councilors had questions and observations following Fishback’s presentation, including City Councilor Brianna Doran.

“With the crisis calls and workload … your staff has extra stress, extra work, extra pressure, they’re doing a lot … will the expansion alleviate some of that workload,” she asked, “or do you think, with that expansion, in anticipation of the growing need, you’ll still be kind of at max capacity, they’ll still be under that working pressure?”

Fishback said, “It will alleviate the workload in that we can hire the staff that we need to alleviate that workload. Right now, because of our space limitations, if I brought on someone tomorrow, I have no place to put them, which means they can’t provide service.”

“You made a couple of important notes that have helped me understand the tremendous need behind this facility,” City Council Nick Wendell observed. “I think the increased usage of your services is probably not temporary. Unfortunately, it seems to be a pretty enduring trend line we’re seeing in the community. Also, the … importance of confidentiality and the experience for patients and families that use the facility in addition to your staff experience, I think an investment … really matters when it comes to this type of service.”

City councilors Joey Collins and Wayne Avery, who have toured the current facility, had some additional thoughts as well.

 “I wrote down some of the numbers (you provided) and, wow, it blows my mind what you’re getting done with what you have,” Collins said.

“(The facility) tour that (Joey and I) had … was pretty enlightening to see what you’re able to do in that facility,” Avery said. “People don’t obviously go to work there because of the great, attractive building. … It’ll be good to see what you can do with a really well-designed building.”

City Councilor Holly Tilton Byrne let her appreciation be known as well. 

“Thank you to you and your staff for the services you provide to this community, and not only generally, but the services you specifically provide to the city by partnering with our police department,” she said. “I think that it is absolutely invaluable what you do, and I just really appreciate the hard work.”

While it was Fishback who made the presentation for the ARPA funding and heard the questions and observations afterward, she ensured credit was given to the center’s staffers.

“I have an incredible staff that are very passionate about what they do,” she said. “They don’t come to work for the building, they don’t come to work for the pay, they come to work because they care about people and they’re passionate about what they do. We’re very, very fortunate to have the staff that we have.”

A final decision by the City Council regarding the center’s $1.2 million ARPA funding request is expected sometime in August.

The city has $4.4 million in ARPA funds to distribute between city organization and community agencies, with $309,000 expenses incurred from January 2021 to June 2022.

Up next: A look at a request for city ARPA funds to address child care needs in the community.

Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.