O2SL & QRT National and Cordata Delivers Situation Table Training in Pulaski County, KY

PULASKI COUNTY, KY – Operation 2 Save Lives (O2SL) and QRT National delivered a two-day Situation Training session in Pulaski County, Kentucky. On Oct. 1, the county will launch the Pulaski County, KY Situation Table – a model that facilitates multi-agency interventions for those at risk of experiencing a crisis.

The training, funded by the Kentucky Opiate Abatement Commission, took place Sept. 11-12, at the Lake Cumberland Regional Airport in Somerset, KY. Mike Botieri, Shana Merrick, Mike Owens and Daniel Meloy of O2SL & QRT National delivered the training.

Fifty eight participants attended the training, representing 32 agencies, including the City of Somerset, KY Community Development, Fire, EMS and Police Departments as well as Adanta Regional Prevention Center, Aegis Mental Health, Ascending Health and Wellness, Avalon Psychological Center, Brightview Health, Crossroads Treatment, Goodwill, Help the Homeless Somerset, Lake Cumberland Recovery Center, Pulaski County Schools, Lexington, KY Veterans Affairs Office, Spero Healthcare, UK Healthcare from McCreary and Pulaski Counties, Volunteers of America Mid-States and the Welcome House. The community was well represented and offered excellent perspective and insight into their outreach and engagement efforts.
 

The training focused on equipping the attending agencies with the skills and lessons necessary to mobilize and launch their Situation Table. A Situation Table is a unique, risk-based rapid triage model that brings together multiple human service providers to address situations where individuals and/or families face a specific Acutely Elevated Risk (AER) threshold. Situation tables comprise representatives from public safety agencies, public health agencies, service providers and other community partners.

O2SL & QRT National thank the local community organizers, Gail Cummins of Brightview Health of Somerset and Bob Boon of Adanta, for their hospitality during the training and help with scheduling and preparing for the Pulaski County Situation Table training event.

The Pulaski County attendees added, “‘Amazing!’ That was the constant we heard from the partners who attended the two-day session—and it truly is. When a community has close to 60 representatives from a multitude of service areas, all invested in joining forces to remove barriers and better serve those in need, it is amazing. We are so excited to begin this journey and cannot thank O2SL and QRT National enough for their support and commitment to helping make this possible.”

 Through the model, an individual or family at AER can be referred to the Situation Table to consider possible outreach and engagement before a crisis occurs. The Table participants will collaborate and discuss the identified risk factors and potential services. Upon reaching a consensus, the Table would identify a team of agencies to attempt to locate the individual or family and connect them to services.

“We had a great time in Pulaski County. The participants were very engaged in the training,” said Botieri. “We hope the training helps participants implement strategies for their upcoming Pulaski County Situation Table launch beginning in October.”

 The Situation Table model was developed in Canada by Global Network for Community Safety (Global Network), a Canadian-based firm that focuses on innovations to improve community safety and wellbeing across Canada and in the U.S. Through the O2SL & QRT National – Global Network partnership, the
organizations work cross-border to collectively provide multi-agency community responses to address issues of marginalization, for pre-crisis identification and crisis interventions, while creating pathways to care and support. Their combined expertise and suite of services – based on internationally recognized best past practices – help provide communities with tailored responses to meet their current needs and the ability to rapidly adjust to an evolving landscape of risk factors, including those around substance use disorders, mental health disorders and related social health issues.

Eight Situation Table communities work across Kentucky: McCracken County (Paducah), Perry County, Jefferson County (Louisville), Powell County, Boyd County, the City of Frankfort, Clay County and now Pulaski County.

The next Situation Table training event in Kentucky will take place Sept.19-20 for the Lexington, Fayette County community.

More than 150 Situation Tables have been launched throughout Canada and the U.S.

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