Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program provides Regional Health Systems with committed behavioral health outlet 

Regional Health Systems offers wide-ranging services, including Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), a program that focuses on behavioral health.

“The AOT Program is a civil court-ordered commitment in Lake County, for individuals with serious mental illnesses or with a co-occurring substance abuse disorder,” said AOT Program Manager Veronica Martinez.

Individuals in the program may have a history of treatment non-adherence, have been in emergency custody, and/or have been discharged to their local jurisdiction. Diagnoses might include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or substance abuse disorder.

AOT works to treat these individuals in order to keep them from causing others significant harm, which would otherwise prompt police to place them in jail.

“Here at Regional Health Systems, one of Regional Care Group’s three subsidiary organizations, the goal is to ensure that individuals have continuity of care to reduce the risk of incarceration or hospitalization, while improving their health and well-being,” Martinez said.

AOT leverages a variety of tactics to treat those with conditions who meet the criteria for the program’s care.

“Those in the AOT Program have a treatment team that works with them,” said Martinez. “They will be provided with a psychiatrist, individual therapy, group therapy, intensive outpatient treatment (IOT) for substance abuse, assertive community treatment (ACT), AIRS (Day Treatment) and case management.”

Due to the behavioral health conditions involved, judicial hearings are handled with extreme care. The judge meets with the case manager prior to the hearing before having a conversation with the participant. Regular reviews of a participant’s progress occur as the participant becomes more engaged.

Regional Health Systems’ AOT program provides essential services to care for individuals in need, building a stronger and more resilient northwest Indiana community.

For more information on Regional Health Systems, visit rhs.care.