Crisis Stabilization
Behavioral Health Crisis Center/Crisis Stabilization Unit
Advantage-The Pavilion at Mitchell Bridge
240 Mitchell Bridge Road, Athens, GA 30606
706-583-7307
The Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC) provides crisis stabilization, temporary observation, and crisis walk-in services. The Crisis Walk-In Center offers a place for individual to come for crisis assessment and to determine next steps in treatment. Next steps may be admission to a crisis stabilization unit, temporary observation unit, or follow-up with outpatient care. The Temporary Observation Unit is a place that adults in crisis may stay for up to 23 hours for evaluation-and a determination for referral to a crisis stabilization program, inpatient unit, or return back to the community. The Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is a 30 bed unit offering short-term residential stabilization services for individuals with psychiatric and/or substance abuse disorders. Individuals are accepted on a voluntary or an involuntary basis. The average length of stay for the program is seven days, with a maximum stay of ten days The CSU has one transitional bed that is designated as separate from the crisis residential beds. Clients occupying the transitional beds may stay in the program beyond ten days and are usually engaged in services and activities that are geared toward their transition into the community.
The programs operate 24 hours a day with staff that includes a prescriber, nurses, clinicians, technicians and operational support staff. Although Advantage’s Crisis Stabilization Unit is in a secure facility, it is not a forensic unit. The unit does not determine admission to the unit based solely on law enforcement hold statuses.
Services (all under the direction of a psychiatrist) to clients include:
- Psychiatric assessment and ongoing care
- Nursing assessment and care
- Medication administration, evaluation, and monitoring
- Treatment planning
- Brief group skills training and counseling
- Education re: psychiatric illness, substance abuse, medications, relapse prevention
- Referrals/linkage to aftercare and community-based services both within Advantage and with other community agencies.
- Referrals to medical and dental care and housing supports.