Kiosk offers privacy and info on mental health issues

Eastpointe, a mental health care provider in Robeson County and surrounding counties, on Thursday unveiled a new way to seek answers and potential help for mental health problems.

In partnership with the Robeson County Health Department, Eastpointe is providing a MindKare kiosk in the lobby of the department building between N.C. 711 and N.C. 72 just west of Interstate 95. The freestanding stations offer a quick way for individuals to check on their mental and behavioral health by providing online self-assessments information and resources for local treatment options.

“The kiosk is a way to do that without introducing the stigma that sometimes people feel when they actually go somewhere to receive services,” said Sarah Stroud, Eastpointe’s chief executive officer.

The kiosk provides privacy and a person does not have to provide name to take the assessment survey. There is a phone that will enable a person to reach a call center open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We’re just hoping people get really comfortable with it … as comfortable a if they were taking a blood pressure screening,” Stroud said.

Jeanette Jordan-Huffman, chief of quality management for Eastpointe, said if a person is considered suicidal, the system will alert the call center and the kiosk will be called of the Health Department notified so help is provided.

“They’ll call 911 if they have to,” Jordan-Huffman said. “They’ll do whatever they have to do to take care of that person.”

Bill Smith, director of the Robeson County Health Department, said the kiosk is available to everyone.

“It’s good for the general population,” Smith said. “It’s also good for our employees.”

The online assessment can also be taken at: Screening.MentalHealthScreening.org/RobesonCounty.

Reach Terri Ferguson Smith at 910-416-5865.