Tim's Journal: Parantap Pandya, a Screener With Street Smarts

No one’s on the frontlines of mental health services in Union County as much as the mobile outreach screeners at Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth. And Parantap Pandya exemplifies the qualities that make up an exceptional clinician/screener.

Parantap says the job requires a combination of academic training and clinical assessment skills, street smarts and the ability to distinguish between someone who may have unmet needs and someone who may be decompensating into a psychotic episode.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” he says, and he likes putting the pieces together to bring about positive outcomes for families in Union County.

Responding to a call for help can be a bit like going out into the jungle, he says. “When the tiger is in the cage things are safe, but meeting the same tiger in the jungle can be scary,” he says.

With his calm demeanor, Parantap knows how “to ask the right questions—you don’t want to provoke someone,” he says.

One of the reasons he works as a clinician/screener is the big need he sees for the service in Union County. Studies show, he says, that counties where mobile outreach is strong have fewer incidents involving people with mental illness. “We are one of the counties in New Jersey with a rapid response to calls,” he says, “and that makes a big difference.”

Lisa Dressner, who oversees mobile outreach as the Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services at Trinitas, says Parantap is part of “a great team” of screeners, with two always available days and evenings and coverage on nights and weekends as well.

“Mobile outreach is critical to helping individuals and families that have someone with a mental illness who cannot or will not come in to be screened,” she says. “It’s a way for them to become more active before a crisis plays out.”

She says Trinitas has tried hard to respond to families that are concerned about waiting for something to happen before they get help.

The screeners, who receive intensive training each year, answer about 100 calls a month. In about a third of those calls, families are linked to other services that can help the person in crisis. Others come in to the Screening Center at Trinitas and are discharged with referrals, while some are admitted to the inpatient unit.

Lisa says the number of calls has increased in recent years, and Parantap explains part of the reason. “People released from hospitals aren’t getting enough support in the community. They may be in other programs, but they aren’t seen enough. There are thousands in Union County.”

Mobile outreach screeners have an advantage over other clinicians who might be seeing them, he says. “When you go into someone’s home, there is a lot of clinical information all around you.”

Lisa says screeners tend to have “a greater sense of empathy” because they see the person in their home setting and know where they come from and belong. As Parantap says, “You can’t do everything over the phone.”

He says he handles the stress of the intensive job by getting exercise and meditating. “We talk about people with mental illness sometimes lacking insight, but it’s important for us, too. The last thing a family wants to see is a screener who is angry or tired. You need a sound mind.”

In addition to the adult mobile outreach, Trinitas offers separate outreach programs for children, the geriatric community and the developmentally disabled.

The phone numbers to call are:

• Adult Mobile Outreach: 908-994-7131
• Child Crisis Intervention: 908-994-7131
• Geriatric (S-COPE): 855-718-2699
• Developmentally Disabled (SCCAT): 888-393-3007