Burlington has been chosen to host a five-bed intensive residential service home that will serve 19 counties in Iowa. 

The Medicaid-funded program, the site for which has been acquired and is expected to open Oct. 1, is the result of legislation aimed at improving Iowa's mental health system that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in 2018. 

That legislation requires that mental health regions establish homes that provide community-based services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to those with persistent mental illness and functional impairments. 

"The IRSH (intensive residential service) home is that 'no-eject, no-reject' home," said Ken Hyndman, director of community services for Des Moines County. "That's the language in the bill that we think of first."

Per Iowa Code Chapter 24, that means a person who meets the criteria will not be denied access or discharged from the service based on the complexity of their mental health and other needs. 

Susan Woodford, executive director of First Resources Corp., the contracted service provider for the mental health region that serves Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Washington and Van Buren counties, said the home will serve individuals identified as being in need of high levels of services by helping them to integrate in the community while providing appropriate support. 

"It's just a higher level of care to make sure that the folks are safe and productive and healthy," Woodford said. "What we're looking for is to make sure they're a part of the community and there's community integration and they're out in the community engaging and being productive. So it's going to give opportunity for them to be a part of the regular population and to be normalized and to be part of Burlington."

Services will be customized to a personal plan according to needs identified by a Level of Care Utilization System for Psychiatric and Addiction Services assessment administered by a managed care provider. 

"If it's anything related to helping them with self-esteem or any mental health issues, we'll certainly help them with and guide them to make sure they get the services in the community, you name it," Woodford said. 

The average length of stay for individuals referred to the program is expected to be about four months. After leaving the IRSH home, they will be transitioned to a lower acuity of care such as an apartment with support in place. 

The IRSH home will be the first of its kind for Southeast Iowa Link, as well as the County Rural Offices of Social Services region, which includes Decatur, Clarke, Lucas, Marion, Monroe, Ringgold and Wayne counties, and the South Central Behavioral Health Region, consisting of Appanoose, Davis, Mahaska and Wapello counties. But Woodford and Hyndman anticipate more will be established in the future. 

Hyndman said that, because of the nature of the services that will be provided, the partnership between the mental health regions is useful.

"It's some of the most intensive services helping people," Hyndman said. 

He explained the bed count has to do with Medicaid.

"In order to get Medicaid funding, it's got to be less than 12 beds because Medicaid doesn't want large, institutional settings," Hyndman said. "They want it community-based, in the community, and so they're looking at a five-bed home so they can serve five people at a time."

Because the home will be located in Burlington, its startup costs will be paid by SEIL, while the CROSS and SCBH regions will help with other costs not covered by Medicaid.

Burlington was selected as the location for the IRSH home due in part to past success with hiring staff. 

Woodford said First Resource is advertising for about 10 positions, including direct service providers, a supervisor, care coordinator and registered nurse, to staff the home, where at least two staff members will be present at all times.

Woodford said the support services already in place, as well as the level of need in southeast Iowa, made Burlington a good choice.

"We saw it as a lot of opportunity," she said. "There's a lot of services available in that area as far as ancillary services, and there's a lot of folks in that area that can benefit in southeast Iowa, so we thought that's a great community to start the new IRSH program.

"We have good experience working with folks in Burlington. We have other programs in Burlington and we've had a lot of success with employees there."

There now are two Medicaid-funded five-bed crisis stabilization homes within the SEIL region, one in Burlington and the other in Fairfield, for individuals diagnosed with a mental illness, intellectual disability or development disability who are in need of immediate intervention. But those are only six-week programs.

SEIL also has a contract for sub-acute services in Ottumwa.

More:Mental illness, addiction plagued West Burlington man who died in fire during standoff

Those in need of mental health support also can benefit from recovery centers like the one that opened in 2018 at 910 Cottonwood Court in Burlington regardless of whether they have Medicaid or other health insurance. 

"There's no requirements for eligibility, so it's a walk-in kind of center," Hyndman said. "They sign their name and there's no other paperwork to do."

The Recovery Center is staffed by Optimae Behavioral Health Services, which provides services such as wellness recovery action planning, but it's also peer-run. 

"People get to choose the hours that they want, the activities that they want," Hyndman said. "So many people just have paid staff in their lives. Well, this gives them a chance to have some peer supports, too, which some people find very helpful."

There are support groups for women, those struggling with anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and more. There's also a group that focuses on art and wellness, as well as free lunch. 

The Recovery Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

For more information, call Optimae at (319) 237-1732. 

Those experiencing a mental health emergency should call 911, or they can call the SEIL Region Crisis Line at (877) 404-4770. There's also the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which can be reached by dialing 988.

Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.