CIT International Conference - Presentation Spotlight Series

Presentation Spotlight Series - Come to the Conference and see todays spotlight presentation:

Title: The Wilco Way…Collaborative Emergency Mental Health Response

Abstract: This session will use three actual psychiatric emergency incidents to demonstrate the operation of our award winning Mobile Outreach Team (MOT). Each case will highlight different aspects of our collaborative approach – joint CIT and MOT response, field assessments, expediting psychiatric admissions, the use of technology, telemedicine, working with EMS and 911 dispatchers, facilitating respite care, and follow-up services. This multi-media presentation will include 911 tapes and a demonstration of the department’s web-based patient database. Administrative concerns such as flex funding, logistics, data collection, and multi-jurisdictional and interdepartmental collaboration will also be discussed. Over the past four years, the Williamson County Mobile Outreach Team and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Intervention Team have saved our county government over four million dollars by diverting mentally ill persons from jail and hospital emergency rooms to clinically appropriate services. Learn how your department can achieve the same in this practical case driven session.

Presentor: Annie Burwell currently serves as the Mental Health Director for Williamson County and leads the nationally recognized Williamson County Mobile Outreach Team. This hardworking team provides emergency mental health services in conjunction with law enforcement, the local mental health authority, and EMS. Annie received her social work degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Her experience in the mental health field includes: psychiatric acute care with children; experiential therapy with adolescents, with an emphasis on backpacking and challenge courses; school based mental health services, and crisis intervention and management. Ms. Burwell has significant training in grief, loss, and trauma interventions, and is a certified hostage negotiator. She serves on many community boards including the Williamson County Commissioners’ Court Mental Health Task Force, and was a co-recipient of the 2002 Harry Gold Award, the 2008 Heroes in the Fight Award, and the 2009 Exemplary Program Award from the Texas Corrections Association.


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