New Hanover County 911 celebrates one year of ‘911 Care’ program

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County’s 911 call center celebrating one year of its mental health program known as “911 Care.” 

The 911 Care team consists of four licensed clinicians in the call center who assist 911 callers who are in crisis. 

Before the program, callers would be sorted into one of three categories based on what they need: fire, EMS, or police.  

With the 911 Care program, operators can still assist callers in crisis even if they don’t fall into one of those boxes. That may be assisting callers facing mental health challenges or trying to manage financial difficulty. 

The care team can also follow up with callers to see if they’re problem has been resolved. 

Clinical Therapy Supervisor Mary Mack says giving callers that extra option makes all the difference. 

“You know there’s so many things that can cause us to be dysregulated, cause us to be really anxious when we’re in crisis, and just knowing that there’s somebody else out there that has some answers for them is worth so much to the caller,” Mack said.

Mack adds the program also provides support to 911 operators who often don’t have time to decompress between calls.