The Lake County ADAMHS Board and Crossroads Health have partnered in the implementation of the SURVIVR Virtual Reality Training Simulator that provides experience in de-escalation and person-in-crisis response to a variety of mental health, substance-use and active-shooter scenarios.
This equipment and program will be offered to crisis clinicians and first-responders to support their current Crisis Intervention Trainings, according to a news release. The Chief’s Association is invited to this event at Crossroads Health in Mentor, and multiple municipalities will be reviewing and testing the system first-hand.
Crossroads Health has provided CIT Training to local law enforcement for years but this joint collaboration came from Crossroads Health’s desire to evolve and innovate CIT Training with technology, the release stated. The goal was to diversify the learning experience of clinicians and first-responders and enhance their existing classroom and in-service training methods.
“In-service scenario-based training is an outstanding training method but because of costs and scheduling constraints associated with this training it can be prohibitive to smaller agencies and larger agencies as well,” Joe Parkin, first responder liaison at Crossroads Health, stated in the release.
In-service training provides hands-on experience and development but is typically only offered once annually due to the enormous time and resources required to perform them, Crossroads Health stated. Virtual reality scenarios will use far less resources while the teams still gain valuable experience. Plus, the mental health focus is new to this area and will continue to strengthen the relationship of first-responders when engaging with community members.
“The Lake ADAMHS Board is continually making efforts to adapt to the evolving needs of all areas of the community,” ADAMHS Board Executive Director Kim Fraser stated in the release. “Clinicians and first-responders are our partners in addressing the needs of individuals with mental illness and substance-use disorders.
“We purchased this program and equipment as a way to improve their recognition of people experiencing behavioral health crises,” she added. “Greater awareness leads to greater safety for both the individuals in crisis and our first responders.”
