SIOUX LOOKOUT, ON — A crisis response nurse has joined the frontline staff at the Ontario Provincial Police detachment in Sioux Lookout.
Registered nurse Mirjana Price this month began working with officers responding to serious situations involving mental health and addictions issues or family disputes.
Price has experience in mental health/crisis, emergency-trauma, sexual assault and domestic violence. She has also taught in the nursing program at Conestoga College in Kitchener.
OPP said in a statement that, "with her nursing skills and experience, Ms. Price is able to help de-escalate the client/situation, complete a mental health assessment, and provide support and resources for the client and their family."
In the 11 shifts she worked up to Friday, Feb. 22, she had already assisted 25 individuals to obtain the necessary health services.
Price is authorized to go on "live calls" with officers in which her safety is not at risk. In addition to providing on-the-scene support, in any situation where a client is apprehended under the Mental Health Act, the crisis response nurse can accompany police to hospital and provide the hospital with her assessment and recommendations.
OPP said they partnered with the Meno Ya Win Health Centre to hire Price.
She is officially employed by the hospital, but her position is funded through Ontario's Proceeds of Crime program, which enables her to work directly from the Sioux Lookout detachment. Funds that are forfeited to the province following successful criminal prosecutions are made available to police services through a system of grants to fund local community safety initiatives.
