Latest news with #OklahomaCityFireDepartment
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A new program is tackling mental health 911 calls in OKC. What is Mobile Integrated Health?
A new program providing an alternative response to mental health-related 911 calls has been officially launched in Oklahoma City. Mobile Integrated Healthcare — an Oklahoma City Fire Department program developed through the city's Public Safety Partnership — is meant to divert mental health emergency calls away from police and toward trained behavioral health professionals who can better address the caller's needs. As Assistant City Manager Jason Ferbrache puts it, not every emergency call needs a police response. Recent demands for police reform have compelled law enforcement to reexamine how certain emergencies might be better addressed by mental health workers, freeing police to instead focus on other problems and serious crimes. 'There are calls that come in that really are specifically behavioral health in nature, and so as a city, we now have the staff to respond, especially in that area, to help folks who are experiencing behavioral issues,' said Ferbrache, who oversees the city's police and fire departments and law enforcement policy implementation. 'The other plus side to that is, if we have staff dedicated to responding to 911 calls involving behavioral health, that adds capacity to our other first responders, police, fire and EMSA, that can deal with those life-threatening emergencies — so it's really a twofold approach.' Related: Oklahoma City demonstrates progress for mental health services in new report Mobile Integrated Healthcare, which has been in development since last year, is a response to 39 recommendations on eight topics made to Oklahoma City officials in 2022. The recommendations — a result of the work of the mayor's Law Enforcement Policy Task Force, the Community Policing Working Group and the city-hired consultant 21CP Solutions — ranged from prioritizing de-escalation, improving officer wellness and exploring alternative responses to mental health calls. Demands for an alternative public safety response to behavioral health issues grew out of increased calls for police reform in Oklahoma City, which heightened after local and nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020. For the past two years, the city's Public Safety Partnership has involved community stakeholders, city officials and law enforcement collaborating on how to enact the recommended reforms. Andrea Grayson, the Public Safety Partnership's implementation manager, said Mobile Integrated Healthcare expands two programs that had been in place at the fire department: the Overdose Response Team formed in 2023 and the Community Advocacy Program begun in 2019. More: What is OKC's plan for reform following DOJ inquiry into mental health emergency calls? 'There was also a specific recommendation that we determine existing community resources and capacity for an alternative response model in the community,' Grayson said. 'And in doing the research, we made the determination to keep that in-house and to build and launch Mobile Integrated Health. It was really just a natural progression and an organic development, because the fire department already had those health programs that were already set up, and it just made sense.' The city started staffing Mobile Integrated Healthcare in late 2024 with a 27-member team, including a program manager, clinicians, paramedics, response navigators and peer recovery support specialists. The city also purchased vans specially fitted to serve residents experiencing mental health crises. There are four subteams that make up Mobile Integrated Healthcare, which include: The Crisis Call Diversion Team embedded at the 911 Call Center, helping to provide de-escalation, stabilization and support for callers in need of mental health service; The Crisis Response Team, responding to mental health emergencies where a person might be showing signs of being a risk to themselves or others; The Alternative Response Team that continues working overdose responses, as well as less-severe behavioral and mental health calls; and The Community Advocacy Program, which helps individuals who frequently call 911 for nonemergency needs get connected to community resources that can better serve them. Related: A look at the effort to expand mental health workers' role in policing The teams were recognized during a May 6 ceremony officially launching Mobile Integrated Healthcare at Oklahoma City Fire Department Station No. 1, 820 NW Fifth St. 'We're about public services, we're about meeting the needs of our community, but what we most importantly have is stepping into space and putting the right people in the right place,' said Oklahoma City Fire Chief Richard Kelley. 'And what I'm really proud of is this being a behavioral health forward program that really has excellent people that are first class. They're experts in their area that are passionate about serving others.' Lori Brown-Loftis, who became program manager in September, has worked in the mental health field for 16 years. She said the Mobile Health team members have been working in a 'soft launch' capacity since January, trying to become accustomed to working with the different resources in different settings with limited hours, and was excited to see the program officially launch. Mobile Integrated Healthcare now operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The program manager said there are plans to extend operating hours in the future. 'I feel like being able to provide mental health treatment in a trauma-informed way in the community, helping people stay in the least restrictive environment — I'm incredibly passionate about that,' Brown-Loftis said. 'It's been such an incredible and exciting thing to be a part of something brand new in Oklahoma City. It's so needed, and I'm just glad to be a part of it, honestly, and to help sort of shape how Oklahoma City is responding to people who are struggling with mental health.' More: OKCPD sees decrease in mental health calls directed to police, partly due to 988 success The program also was developed with guidance from the city's Crisis Intervention Advisory Group, a committee of mental and behavioral health experts, social service providers, clinicians, academics and community advocates who were brought in to help ensure best practices are being followed. Jessica Hawkins, director of community initiatives at the nonprofit Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, is the lead facilitator for the Crisis Intervention Advisory Group. She said the committee meets regularly to be briefed on the progress of the mobile health teams, who have already had 'an incredible impact' responding to hundreds of calls in the past few months. 'This allows for an opportunity to keep law enforcement in the field doing what they do in the space of public safety,' Hawkins said. 'They've already realized quite a bit of time and cost savings, I know, by not having to dispatch police into situations where they're not the best responder, and this is just going to continue to go up and up and be a big win for the city and the residents.' Hawkins also said it was refreshing to see Oklahoma City leadership investing real time, money and effort into finding solutions for behavioral and mental health issues. She has long advocated for establishing protective factors that can prevent harmful problems from happening to residents in the first place. 'Life happens, and people have circumstances mostly out of their control that lead them into a situation of distress,' Hawkins said, 'and if we can intervene appropriately as early as possible, with the best possible care applied to what's happening for that person, we can prevent these events from happening ever again.' This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Mobile Integrated Healthcare responding to mental health calls in OKC
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
Woman's death reported at Oklahoma County Detention Center. Medical examiner's office will investigate.
The Oklahoma County Detention Center says it has launched an investigation into the death of an inmate. Jail officials said a detention officer found Rachel Nalley, 35, unresponsive in her cell in the early hours of April 26. "The medical examiner will have to rule on a cause of death. They don't really have anything in right now or any indication of what it is," said Mark Opgrande, a county spokesperson. Nally's condition was observed during a routine welfare check, and the officer summoned medical staff from the facility and the Oklahoma City Fire Department, Opgrande said. Nally was pronounced dead at 7:27 a.m. "She was not taken to the hospital. She was pronounced deceased by the fire department at the facility," Opgrande said. Following protocol, the detention center ruled the incident as a homicide, and an investigation was initiated to determine the cause of death, Opgrande said. He added that the investigation by the State Medical Examiner's Office could take up to six months. Nalley had been detained at the county jail since April 21. The Oklahoma City Police Department arrested her for failing to appear in court for earlier charges. The detention center did not release any other information. On October 22, 2024, the State of Oklahoma filed misdemeanor charges against Nalley on two charges, according to court dockets. The first was for engaging in prostitution, and the second was for being in possession of a controlled substance. She had been found with fentanyl, according to the records. Court records also show McNally was released on bail and two trial dates were set, one for March 5, 2025, and a later one for May 7. Further details about her court dates, her apparent failure to appear and her subsequent re-arrest were not immediately available. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Inmate awaiting trial found dead at Oklahoma County Detention Center
Chicago Tribune
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Former President Bill Clinton returns to Oklahoma City 30 years after the bombing
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thirty years after the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history, former President Bill Clinton returned to Oklahoma City on Saturday to remember the people who were killed and comfort those affected by the bombing. Clinton was president on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb exploded, destroying a nine-story federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. He delivered the keynote address at a remembrance ceremony near the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. Clinton, now 78, was widely praised for how he helped the city grapple with its grief in the wake of the bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. He says it was a day in his presidency that he will never forget. 'I still remember as if it were 30 minutes ago, coming here with Hillary to that memorial service and saying: 'You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. You have certainly not lost America, and we will be with you for as many tomorrows as it takes,'' Clinton said, recalling his first visit to Oklahoma City just days after the bombing, when he spoke at a memorial service for the for the victims. 'I do think we've kept that commitment.' Clinton has visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum numerous times in the years since the bombing and delivered speeches on major anniversaries. On Saturday, Clinton also cautioned about the polarizing nature of modern-day politics and how such divisiveness can lead to violence, as it did 30 years ago. He said there is much the nation can learn from the 'Oklahoma Standard,' a term coined to reference the city's response to the bombing by uniting in service, honor and kindness. 'Today, Oklahoma City, America needs you,' he said. 'I wish to goodness every American could just see life unfold here, hearing these stories.' Other speakers included former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick, who were in office when the bombing occurred. Family members of some of those killed in the bombing read the 168 names of those killed in the attack. Saturday's ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on the grounds of the memorial but was moved inside an adjacent church because of heavy rains. After the ceremony, a procession of bagpipe players from the Oklahoma City Fire Department led many of those in attendance across the street to the outdoor memorial built on the grounds where the federal building once stood. The memorial includes a museum, a reflecting pool and 168 empty chairs of glass, bronze and stone etched with the names of those killed. Nineteen of the chairs are smaller than the others to represent the children killed. Among the memorial's top missions is to help people understand the senselessness of political violence and teach a new generation about the impact of the bombing, said Kari Watkins, the memorial's president and CEO. 'We knew when we built this place we would some day reach a generation of people who weren't born or who didn't remember the story,' Watkins said. 'I think now, not just kids are coming through more and more, but teachers who are teaching those kids.' Originally Published: April 19, 2025 at 7:14 PM CDT
Los Angeles Times
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Former President Clinton returns to Oklahoma City 30 years after the bombing
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thirty years after the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history, former President Clinton returned to Oklahoma City on Saturday to remember the people who were killed and comfort those affected by the bombing. Clinton was president on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb exploded, destroying a nine-story federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. He delivered the keynote address at a remembrance ceremony near the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. Clinton, now 78, was widely praised for how he helped the city grapple with its grief in the wake of the bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. He says it was a day in his presidency that he will never forget. 'I still remember as if it were 30 minutes ago, coming here with Hillary to that memorial service and saying: 'You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. You have certainly not lost America, and we will be with you for as many tomorrows as it takes,'' Clinton said, recalling his first visit to Oklahoma City days after the bombing, when he spoke at a memorial service for the victims. 'I do think we've kept that commitment.' Clinton has visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum numerous times in the years since the bombing and delivered speeches on major anniversaries. On Saturday, Clinton also cautioned about the polarizing nature of modern-day politics and how such divisiveness can lead to violence, as it did 30 years ago. He said there is much the nation can learn from the 'Oklahoma Standard,' a term coined to reference the city's response to the bombing by uniting in service, honor and kindness. 'Today, Oklahoma City, America needs you,' he said. 'I wish to goodness every American could just see life unfold here, hearing these stories.' Other speakers included former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick, who were in office when the bombing occurred. Family members of some of the victims read the 168 names of those killed in the attack. Saturday's ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on the grounds of the memorial but was moved inside an adjacent church because of heavy rains. After the ceremony, a procession of bagpipe players from the Oklahoma City Fire Department led many of those in attendance across the street to the outdoor memorial built on the grounds where the federal building once stood. The memorial includes a museum, a reflecting pool and 168 empty chairs of glass, bronze and stone etched with the names of those killed. Nineteen of the chairs are smaller than the others to represent the children killed. The memorial's top missions include a campaign to help people understand the senselessness of political violence and teach a new generation about the effect of the bombing, said Kari Watkins, the memorial's president and chief executive. 'We knew when we built this place we would some day reach a generation of people who weren't born or who didn't remember the story,' Watkins said. 'I think now, not just kids are coming through more and more, but teachers who are teaching those kids.' Murphy writes for the Associated Press.
CBS News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former President Bill Clinton returns to Oklahoma City 30 years after the bombing that killed 168 people
Thirty years after the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history, former President Bill Clinton returned to Oklahoma City on Saturday to remember the people who were killed and comfort those affected by the bombing . Clinton was president on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb exploded, destroying a nine-story federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. He delivered the keynote address at a remembrance ceremony near the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. Clinton, now 78, was widely praised for how he helped the city grapple with its grief in the wake of the bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. He says it was a day in his presidency that he will never forget. "I still remember as if it were 30 minutes ago, coming here with Hillary to that memorial service and saying: 'You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. You have certainly not lost America, and we will be with you for as many tomorrows as it takes,'" Clinton said, recalling his first visit to Oklahoma City just days after the bombing, when he spoke at a memorial service for the for the victims. "I do think we've kept that commitment." Clinton has visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum numerous times in the years since the bombing and delivered speeches on major anniversaries. On Saturday, Clinton also cautioned about the polarizing nature of modern-day politics and how such divisiveness can lead to violence, as it did 30 years ago. He said there is much the nation can learn from the "Oklahoma Standard," a term coined to reference the city's response to the bombing by uniting in service, honor and kindness. "Today, Oklahoma City, America needs you," he said. "I wish to goodness every American could just see life unfold here, hearing these stories." Other speakers included former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick, who were in office when the bombing occurred. Family members of some of those killed in the bombing read the 168 names of those killed in the attack. Saturday's ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on the grounds of the memorial but was moved inside an adjacent church because of heavy rains. After the ceremony, a procession of bagpipe players from the Oklahoma City Fire Department led many of those in attendance across the street to the outdoor memorial built on the grounds where the federal building once stood. The memorial includes a museum, a reflecting pool and 168 empty chairs of glass, bronze and stone etched with the names of those killed. Nineteen of the chairs are smaller than the others to represent the children killed. Among the memorial's top missions is to help people understand the senselessness of political violence and teach a new generation about the impact of the bombing, said Kari Watkins, the memorial's president and CEO. "We knew when we built this place we would some day reach a generation of people who weren't born or who didn't remember the story," Watkins said. "I think now, not just kids are coming through more and more, but teachers who are teaching those kids."
