In today’s healthcare landscape, ensuring staff safety while delivering exceptional patient care is a constant challenge. Behavioral health settings, in particular, present unique demands that require comprehensive solutions. Vail Health, a leading healthcare provider, recognized this need as it expanded its behavioral health services. Through its adoption of CENTEGIX’s CrisisAlert™ wearable duress system, the organization has significantly enhanced workplace safety, improved response times, and elevated the continuity of patient care.
Identifying the Challenge
In 2023, Vail Health opened its Behavioral Health clinic, focusing on outpatient services and preparing for a new inpatient unit. As the facility grew and began treating patients with a higher level of acuity than originally anticipated, staff began expressing feelings about the need for enhanced safety protocols.The introduction of comprehensive medication management and substance use treatments heightened the complexity of care, bringing more stressors into the clinic environment.
Front desk staff often bore the brunt of these challenges, encountering agitated visitors under duress. One staff member recounted a particularly emotional incident involving a parent whose child was being transported to a hospital under an emergency hold. Scenarios like these highlighted the need for a discreet, immediate response system that could defuse tensions while maintaining a calm and supportive atmosphere.
“Our staff didn’t really feel like we were set up well for anything that could happen,” explained Kim Goodrich, Community Mental Health Center Program Improvement Director. “So, we wanted to make an investment so they could feel supported in that way.”
Finding the Solution: CENTEGIX CrisisAlert™
A project team was put together and security assessments were initiated. Vail Health partnered with external consultants and their local law enforcement organization. They decided to add additional layers of security to their safety plan, including ballistic doors and a wearable duress system. After evaluating multiple safety solutions, Vail Health selected CENTEGIX’s CrisisAlert™ system, a wearable duress badge that allows employees to summon help discreetly and swiftly. The decision was guided by the badge’s discreet design, scalability, and its ability to work seamlessly across the campus—indoors and outdoors. With precise locating capabilities, the CrisisAlert system provided responders with clear communication about who needed help and where they were, enabling faster intervention.
The technology’s scalability was another key factor. As Vail Health anticipated future growth, including the opening of its inpatient behavioral health unit, CrisisAlert’s ability to expand effortlessly aligned perfectly with the organization’s long-term plans.
“We chose CrisisAlert because it’s wearable, has precise locating capabilities, and works everywhere on our campus, inside or out,” said Goodrich. “It was great for our future plans that it could integrate into our overhead system and allow us to create zones for responders by floor level.”
The Impact: Safety, Speed, Seamless Care, and Scalability
Since implementing the CrisisAlert system, Vail Health has observed transformative results, enhancing both staff confidence and patient care.
- Enhanced Workplace Safety:
CrisisAlert has redefined how safety is approached at Vail Health, particularly for front desk staff, who are often the first point of contact for distressed individuals. Employees now feel a stronger sense of security, knowing help is just a button press away.
One staff member reflected, “It’s been such a feeling of stability and security. Having something that you can just press a button, without having to move away from what you’re doing…and knowing that there’s going to be a responder, a supportive peer colleague, or even supervisor on the way to support you.”
- Reduced Response Times:
The system’s discreet alert mechanism has allowed staff to request assistance quickly and without escalating the situation. In one case, a provider used CrisisAlert to intervene when a patient in crisis abruptly left a session expressing suicidal intent. The team was able to engage law enforcement and emergency contacts swiftly, preventing a potentially tragic outcome.
“That badge literally saved a life that day,” shared Christine Stiebel, Patient Experience Coordinator.
- Continuity of Patient Care:
CrisisAlert’s unexpected benefits extended beyond safety. By providing a calm and controlled mechanism to address escalating situations, the system enabled smoother patient care. For example, during a session where a patient was discussing topics that required more clinical support, staff used CrisisAlert to summon assistance without interrupting the therapeutic process.
“It’s not that we feel unsafe,” said Kala Bettis, Integrated Behavioral Health Supervisor, “but it’s for an escalating clinical issue that requires more hands on deck.”
- Scalability for Growth:
As Vail Health integrates CrisisAlert into its expanding facilities, the system’s scalability has proven invaluable. The platform’s ability to adapt to new locations and users ensures consistent safety protocols across the organization.
Changing the Safety Narrative
In addition to its functional benefits, CrisisAlert has helped Vail Health reframe conversations around behavioral health and safety. By addressing safety concerns proactively and discreetly, the organization has contributed to a workplace culture that prioritizes both staff well-being and patient dignity.
“We had many conversations about enhancing clinic safety while also trying to de-stigmatize the idea that behavioral health equals violence,” Bettis explained. “Our experience with CrisisAlert allows us to reframe that conversation to promote an increase in safety, clinical access, and support from our care team.”
A Commitment to Excellence
The integration of CENTEGIX’s CrisisAlert system has been more than a technological upgrade for Vail Health—it’s a reaffirmation of the organization’s commitment to safety and patient care. By addressing safety concerns with a forward-thinking solution, Vail Health has empowered its staff, improved patient experiences, and set a foundation for continued growth.
As the healthcare landscape evolves, Vail Health’s experience with CrisisAlert demonstrates the importance of innovative safety solutions in creating environments where both staff and patients can thrive.
To hear more about Vail Health’s journey, click here.
