The Merakey Mental Health Walk-In Clinic, located on Broad Street near Allegheny close to Temple’s Main Campus, will be the first in Philadelphia to offer walk-in mental health services for individuals in non-emergency situations.
The clinic will begin offering services on Sept. 3 and will help adults with mental health struggles and addiction. It will offer a range of short-term services such as psychiatric evaluations, counseling sessions, prescription refills and referrals based on the needs of the patient.
The clinic is funded by the city and operated by Merakey, a non-profit that provides support for several different health concerns. It will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The overall mission is to provide an immediate, accessible place for individuals to receive mental health care,” said Mark O’Dwyer, executive director for mental health outpatient services at Merakey. “The outcomes are that more people can quickly access the mental health care system and services. We intended for this to reduce the reliance on emergency departments, crisis response centers, and higher levels of care because people will be able to receive care when they are not in crisis.”
The clinic will not provide emergency crisis services. When an individual arrives at the clinic, they will undergo a brief assessment to determine their needs.
“The main difference between our services and a crisis response center is really who the service is intended for,” O’Dwyer said. “The walk-in clinic is meant for somebody who is not in a state of crisis. They could have an urgent issue, which could be depression, they could be nervous or anxious, but they’re not at a place where they’re thinking about hurting themselves or hurting somebody else.”
Temple University Hospital offers a Crisis Response Center at their Episcopal Campus. The CRC is a 24-hour psychiatric emergency clinic where patients are treated for similar issues of mental health episodes and substance abuse.
The Merakey Clinic is also offering services to individuals regardless of their insurance or ability to pay.
If patients are uninsured, the clinic will help them explore insurance options that may work for them, Todd Loeb, corporate director of communication and administration at Merakey, wrote in an email to The Temple News.
The clinic will work with local providers to make referrals for those interested in ongoing services and in need of long-term support.
Individuals who are in need of medication will be prescribed a bridge medication to stabilize the patient while they wait to connect to more long-term outpatient care or a doctor.
“We will be working alongside the city and our partners to monitor that value [of patients] over the first year to determine who’s presenting, how many people are presenting, so that we can really assess the need for this particular level of care in the city of Philadelphia,” said Nicole Connell, senior executive director for adult behavior services at Merakey.
Emily Verespy, a senior nursing major, thinks this will make mental health care more accessible for students.
“Temple provides many resources through Tuttleman Counseling Services, yet sometimes these services are hard to get at a moment’s notice and require some time to set up,” Verespy said. “Advocation for mental health has improved in recent years, but creating this clinic is one step closer to making resources freely available to anyone who needs them.”
Verespy also believes the access to care will benefit the Temple and Philadelphia communities. When people need help, it can be hard to get immediate care and it can require many steps and surveys to see an expert. Verespy is hopeful that the Merakey Clinic can change that, she said.
With the Merakey Clinic just north of Temple’s campus, Loeb believes it will be well equipped to support the Temple community.
“[Merakey Clinic] is uniquely positioned to support the Temple University community by providing accessible, immediate mental health services tailored to the needs of students, faculty, and staff,” Loeb wrote. “As the pressures of academic life, work, and personal responsibilities continue to rise, we can be a resource that offers timely, professional support. Our urgent care facility addresses a range of behavioral health concerns and can help mitigate the impact of stressors before they escalate, contributing to a healthier, more resilient university environment.”
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