Crisis stabilization and a short-term residential facility are offered to a community of low-income individuals suffering from acute psychiatric conditions. Simply put, these services help people with mental health issues. They are designed to support the community and help them recover and live successfully.
If you want to work in a crisis stabilization unit or a residential treatment facility, you’ll have to get due diligence done by the FDLE. This includes submitting fingerprints to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and completing a national and state criminal record check. FEFPS is an FDLE-approved live-scan fingerprinting center offering convenient, affordable, and quality services to AHCA providers.
What is a Crisis Stabilization Unit?
A crisis stabilization unit is for people whose functioning is somewhat impaired or who are experiencing an acute psychiatric crisis. The community-based supportive care and treatment program is designed for individuals undergoing a psychosocial crisis and at risk of hospitalization.
These programs are for children and young adults encountering behavioral health crises. This includes people from the area in the state of Florida. A crisis stabilization unit is structured for a short-term stay of 30 days, with the first seven days designed with the goal of transition.
What is a Short-Term Residential Treatment Facility?
A short-term residential treatment facility can help people overcome drug and alcohol addiction. These addictions can also go beyond substance abuse and include environmental, social, and biological factors. To get away from your addiction, you need to do more than just stop using drugs. One also needs the help and support of a short-term residential treatment facility.
One undergoes an intensive drug treatment program when choosing a short-term residential treatment facility to address addiction issues. This treatment usually lasts about 28 or 30 days. They undergo medical detoxification under the supervision of an experienced detox staff.
Establishing a Crisis Stabilization or a Short-term RTF
Crisis stabilization units and short-term residential facilities are community-based, licensed residences for individuals. These units are limited to individuals at least 18 years of age.
Learning regulations in your area:
In any medical facility, including a crisis unit, there are a lot of regulations about zoning, insurance, staffing, building codes, overcrowding, and anything else that might affect the health of your patients. The government could shut your business down if you don’t follow all the laws.
Therefore, before you take further steps to start your business, you should know precisely what operating your business entails. Review all local regulations for operating such an establishment. Keep them all in mind to comply with the laws when setting up your business.
Forming a business entity:
A crisis stabilization unit must be legally authorized, so form a corporation to get that going. Different legal forms have various advantages. For example, a limited liability company (LLC) is a simple corporation that a few partners can form. On the other hand, a corporation is more complicated but valuable if you’ve multiple partners and investors. Weigh the advantages of each legal form to determine which is best for your business.
To form a business entity, you must complete the necessary paperwork and file it with your state. Contact a business attorney for legal advice if you’re unsure about forming a corporation. Another advantage of forming a legal entity is that your assets are protected if your business fails or you’re sued. Also, open a separate bank account for your business. This keeps your personal and business assets separate. Talk to a representative at any bank to open a business bank account.
Check with medical providers for quotes on equipment:
Crisis stabilization requires equipment similar to that used in a hospital, so you should contact your vendors early. You may have a choice of several vendors, so request a quote from them for the necessary equipment. Once you find a supplier, order what you need to open the facility.
Buying in bulk is almost always cheaper than buying smaller quantities per unit. For example, if you know you’ll need a lot of rubber gloves, order 10,000 instead of 100. You know you’ll need them every day, so it’s worth the expense. When choosing suppliers, look for more than just low prices. A company may be the cheapest in the area but is known for poor service. You can also contact the manufacturers directly to buy equipment. This can be cheaper than working with subcontractors. Remember that all this equipment is expensive. Before you buy them, make sure you have a steady cash flow.
Obtain all the necessary licenses to run the facility:
The license you will apply for depends on the type of care you offer.
Mental Health-
There are two different sets of licensure that you require for opening up a residential mental health facility. Florida’s Agency offers these licenses for Health Care Administration. The applicant must offer a long-term and homelike residential environment to get approval for these licenses.
These residential facilities must provide supervision, care, support, and assistance to individuals diagnosed with any minor or significant mental illness. One would also require the licenses that are applicable to a mental health residential facility who offer services to individuals suffering from major mental illness and do not have a primary residence.
The residential facilities for mental health generally offered a license for the facility for a year. A renewal application is submitted, and an inspection is conducted for the license renewal.
Substance Use Disorder-
If you’re setting up a crisis stabilization unit or short-term residential facility, you may also choose to treat young adults with a substance use disorder. All facilities that accept substance abuse substances must be licensed. Initially, the facility receives a probationary license for 90 days. Once approved, the facility will be granted a license for one year.
Regardless of what type of crisis stabilization facility or short-term care facility you choose to establish, you must undergo a due diligence review by the AHCA. This ensures that all parts of the community are safe and well cared for.
To complete the diligence, you must submit your fingerprints to an FDLE-approved center. These fingerprints are then forwarded to law enforcement, where a state and criminal record are generated. You need a clean record to open an AHCA-approved facility or work as a caregiver.
FEFPS is a veteran-founded FDLE- approved center that takes high-quality livescan fingerprints. We submit your fingerprints to FDLE on the same day. The report is generated and forwarded to the center while your license application is being reviewed.
Hire staff to handle the day-to-day tasks of the crisis stabilization unit:
You need help to run your facility. In addition to caring for patients, many tasks are part of running a facility, such as cleaning, accounting, managing food, and repairing computers. Hire all the medical and administrative staff you need to keep the facility running smoothly. Post job ads on websites like Indeed to get as many applicants as possible.
Remember that you can outsource certain work instead of hiring full-time staff. For example, you can work with an accounting firm or cleaning company instead of hiring your bookkeeper or cleaner. This can be less expensive.
