Staff at Memorial Behavioral Health in Springfield, Ill., are on call around the clock to talk with people struggling with suicidal thoughts, drug addiction or other mental health crises.
They provide a listening ear and help connect people to resources or crisis support, if needed.
Until recently, the hospital’s call center was operated by on-call nurses and other clinical staff. But at times when everyone was tied up with patients, calls would go unanswered, bumping the caller to the nearest available call center, often in another state or a national backup center.
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