Beyond Emergency Rooms: Portage County Addresses a Critical Gap in Mental Healthcare
The question of where to turn during a mental health crisis – a situation demanding both safety and specialized care – has long been a fraught one for residents of Portage County, Ohio. Too often, the answer has involved emergency rooms, law enforcement, or, tragically, no immediate support at all. Now, a $7.7 million expansion of the Portage Crisis Center at Coleman Health Services in Ravenna represents a deliberate attempt to reshape that response, moving beyond reactive containment toward proactive, dedicated care. This isn’t simply about adding beds; it’s a systemic shift acknowledging the limitations of existing resources and the growing complexity of mental health needs in the region.
Based on the original news5cleveland.com report.
The impetus for this expansion, as articulated by Karyn Kravetz, associate director of the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, stemmed from a recognized deficiency in the county’s crisis intervention system. While headlines focus on the new facility’s capacity – more than doubling current space and adding a dedicated youth and family unit – the core issue is access. Currently, police and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel frequently encounter individuals in crisis only to find limited options for immediate, appropriate care. Hattie Tracy, president and CEO at Coleman Health Services, highlighted this directly: “We’ve also seen a gap where police and EMS are currently bringing clients to us and we’re not able to keep them at our facility.” The expansion aims to close that gap, providing a safe space for assessment, stabilization, and connection to longer-term support. The inclusion of a 23-hour involuntary hold unit is particularly significant, offering a crucial intermediate step for individuals requiring immediate observation without the intensity – and associated costs – of full hospitalization.
The timing of this project is inextricably linked to the broader mental health landscape. Kravetz notes that the situation began to acutely worsen around four to five years ago, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While conditions are “starting to get a little bit better,” the underlying need remains substantial. This isn’t merely a return to pre-pandemic levels of demand; the pandemic appears to have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and brought new challenges to the forefront. The 4% decrease in emergency room visits related to self-harm observed between 2023 and 2024 is encouraging, but it’s crucial to interpret this cautiously. It’s too early to definitively attribute this decline to any single factor, and it’s possible that individuals are delaying care rather than finding alternative support. Furthermore, a 4% drop, while positive, represents a relatively small change against the backdrop of a significant and ongoing crisis.
Beyond increased capacity, the expansion also addresses fundamental quality-of-life considerations within the facility itself. A seemingly small detail – the addition of private bathrooms to each room – speaks volumes about the effort to create a more dignified and therapeutic environment. Previous facilities lacked this basic amenity, contributing to a sense of institutionalization that can be counterproductive to recovery. This focus on creating a less sterile, more humane setting reflects a growing understanding of the importance of trauma-informed care and the need to minimize re-traumatization within the mental health system.
However, limitations to consider remain. The success of the Portage Crisis Center will depend not only on its physical infrastructure but also on its integration with other community resources. A crisis center is, by definition, a point of acute intervention. Sustained recovery requires ongoing access to affordable mental healthcare, supportive housing, and employment opportunities – areas where significant gaps still exist in many communities. Furthermore, the center’s capacity, while expanded, is still finite. It will be essential to monitor wait times, referral patterns, and patient outcomes to ensure that the facility is effectively serving those most in need. The question now is not simply if the center will open this summer, but how its impact will be measured and sustained beyond the initial surge of attention. Will Portage County also invest in the wraparound services necessary to support individuals after they leave the 23-hour hold unit, or will they simply be released back into a system that failed them in the first place?
