according to the Centers for Disease Control, has
the seventh highest suicide rate in the nation.
In one possible solution, a police officer
responding to someone suffering a mental
health crisis could use a tablet to make a video
call with someone trained in de-escalating
mental crises.
“This is like a mental health ambulance coming
virtually into the home,” Sen. Deb Soholt,
a Sioux Falls Republican, said at a House
committee meeting.
Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer, a Dell Rapids
Republican, said the lack of mental health care is
especially acute in rural areas and among people
who work in agriculture. The state also has a
shortage of mental health professionals.
Langer said the push to increase mental health
care in rural areas has broad support.
One of the bills that cleared the House Health
and Human Services committee would make it
possible for virtual mental health care providers
to write prescriptions on their first video call.
The other bills are either awaiting a committee
hearing or have not yet been introduced.
The bills will need to clear both houses of the
Legislature and be signed by Gov. Kristi Noem to
become law.
Noem supports the initiative, according to her
spokeswoman Kristin Wileman.
“With shortages in the behavioral health
workforce, maximizing technology is critical to
meeting the needs of South Dakotans in rural
and remote areas,” Wileman said in a statement.
A police officer responding to a call for someone
in a crisis currently has limited options. They can