Possible triage center location gives leaders hope for next steps

Officials leading the way in creating a community triage center are hopeful a strong prospective location will speed up the project's progress.

The city's Tuesday announcement of offering up surplus money to move the city's IT Department to the city center to free up the annex building for the triage center is giving leaders hope of accelerating a project that's been talked about for years.

"Everybody is in full agreement that it seems like the best place to put (the triage center)," said Minnehaha County Commissioner Dean Karsky. 

The facility would provide medical and social services to the chronically homeless, people struggling with addiction or mental illness, and people who often find themselves in hospital emergency rooms – whether they are hurt or not. It will also target those who constantly rotate through the criminal justice system.

More:Mayor TenHaken offers surplus money to free up City Hall annex for triage center

What is a community triage center?

The surplus dollars being recommended would directly support finishing the third-floor City Center and would not be directly tied to the triage center, city officials said Tuesday. That move would clear up the annex building near City Hall for the triage center.  

The annex is the most ideal location for the center, Karsky said. It's close to a parking ramp, public services and is centrally located in the city. 

After years of discussions, meetings and studies, Tuesday's announcement of a possible location was welcome news for Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, who has long said a triage center would benefit the county.

"That was some of the best news that I've heard this year," he said. "We recognize the value this triage center could provide to the community and community safety, and positively impact lives of people."

More:Minnehaha County gets $700,000 grant to help address mental health, addiction in the community

Officials are working to analyze data on people who frequent the justice system as well as high users of the emergency room to find overlap and figure out how to reach out to them on the front end, Milstead said. 

Conversations for the triage center began almost five years ago, and Milstead has been outspoken about wanting strides made in the project. He's grateful for Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken's dedication to the project, he said.

"It has been a slow process, and that’s important, but one of the reasons it’s been a slow process is because we didn’t know where it would be," Milstead said Wednesday. "We didn’t know what services would be able to be provided. Not everything will be there on day one, but this is a huge step toward making this a reality."

More:Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County triage center would cost millions to operate each year

Karsky agreed it's been a slow process, but expects the center's next few major steps to roll out quickly. 

One of the next big milestones is finding an executive director, Karsky said.

But before that happens, the entity that will be in charge of the triage center has to be formed, he said. That board, likely to be made of city, county and healthcare officials, will be in charge of naming a director and finalizing the details on the center's services.

"We are actively in the process of doing the legal work to create it (the board) so we can do all these things," Karsky said. 

More:What is a community triage center?

The governing board will also have to dig into details of how the center will accept money and dish out payroll. The triage center has to be able to accept money from hospitals and nonprofits and has to bill Medicare and private insurance – details a legal team has been ironing out, Karsky said.

Officials are aware of the center's somewhat hefty projected yearly costs – about $3.5 million to $4 million. Funding sources aren't completely finalized, but Karsky said that those involved have "identified some money that can be used."

Even with the lingering details, Karsky is optimistic about the achieving the goal they've been pursuing for nearly half a decade. A team is doing a visit to a facility in Charleston, S.C., in the next few weeks to see how it's run and learn from its medical staff, Karsky said.

"It's a heavy lift," Karsky said. "It's very exciting. It's going to be a great thing for our community. Triage is the first door that you go through so you can find the right help that you need. That’s the important thing."

Karsky is hoping a board will be able to announce an official location, list of services and executive director by this fall. 

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com, or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.