New Crisis Center offers around the clock behavioral health support, eases ER strain
On December 3 the Grand Traverse Mental Health Crisis and Access Center highlighted around the clock access as the community moved into the holiday season, reminding residents of an alternative to emergency rooms for non life threatening behavioral health crises. Launched in full earlier in 2025 and located on the Munson Medical Center campus, the center provides assessments, crisis intervention, mobile response and peer support for people of all ages and insurance types.
As families and service providers prepare for a season when stress and isolation often increase, the Grand Traverse Mental Health Crisis and Access Center renewed its message that help is available 24 7. The center, which began full operations earlier in 2025 on the Munson Medical Center campus, was created to divert individuals in behavioral health distress away from hospital emergency departments when their needs are urgent but not immediately life threatening.
The center offers a range of services designed to meet people where they are and to stabilize crises in community based settings. Those services include behavioral health assessments, face to face crisis intervention, psychiatric preadmission screening, mobile crisis response and peer support. Staff also provide referrals to higher level care when necessary, and crisis phone screening is available so people can get guidance before arriving. The center accepts patients of all ages and all insurance types, expanding access for residents who have historically faced barriers to timely behavioral health care.
Since opening, the center has reported an increase in visits, a sign both of community need and of community trust in a non emergency option for crisis care. For the health system, that shift can reduce pressure on emergency departments and free up inpatient resources for acute medical needs. For individuals and families, it can mean faster, more appropriate care and a more dignified pathway to ongoing treatment.
The center’s operation highlights broader public health and policy issues in Grand Traverse County. Sustainable funding, coordinated referral pathways, workforce support for crisis clinicians and expanded community education will all influence whether this model reduces disparities in access. Mobile crisis teams and peer support are promising components for reaching underserved neighborhoods and for connecting people to longer term services.
Community awareness is essential. As the holidays approach, residents and local partners can now consider the crisis center as an available option for non life threatening behavioral health emergencies, while continuing to call emergency services when there is immediate danger.
