Wellstar Expands Mental Health Crisis Services

Wellstar Health System expanded its mental health crisis response program this month, adding two mobile crisis units staffed by a clinician and a peer support specialist who can respond directly to crisis calls across Cobb County rather than routing every case through police or the emergency department.

The mobile units respond to dispatch requests coordinated with the county's crisis hotline, aiming to de-escalate mental health emergencies in the community when appropriate rather than automatically transporting individuals to a hospital emergency room. Hospital officials say the model reflects a broader shift in how mental health crises are handled, moving away from a strictly law-enforcement-led response.

"Not every mental health crisis needs a police car and an ambulance," said Wellstar's Director of Behavioral Health. "Sometimes what a person in crisis needs most is a trained clinician who can talk them through the moment and connect them with follow-up care, without the added stress of feeling like they've done something wrong."

The expanded program builds on a smaller pilot that launched two years ago with a single mobile unit. Hospital data from the pilot period shows a meaningful share of crisis calls were resolved on-scene without requiring hospital transport, a result Wellstar says has both improved patient experience and reduced pressure on the emergency department.

County officials say they are evaluating funding to expand the program's operating hours to overnight coverage, which currently remains a gap in crisis response availability.