A message from your Community Center on COVID-19

To our valued clientele and community,

As global concerns increase around COVID-19, the health, safety and wellbeing of our clients and employees remain our top priority. At Border Region Behavioral Health Center (the “Center”), we are closely monitoring the situation and listening to the recommendations of experts, including guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and local governments.

• Taking the temperature of all persons coming onto Center property; once cleared, they can enter the building. Clients will be seen if they are not symptomatic for COVID-19.
• Arranging seating in waiting areas to allow for social distancing.
• Clients will have the option of waiting in their vehicle before an appointment and Center staff will text them when the service provider for the appointment is ready to see them.
• Clients wishing to cancel due to COVID-19 concerns will be given the option of a telephone visit to still provide the necessary services.
• Day habilitation has been suspended until further notice.
• Center employees shall cease travel between counties.
• Art Classes at the Center have been suspended until further notice.
• Center staff will be sent home if they exhibit flu like symptoms or any symptoms resembling COVID-19 using CDC and City of Laredo Guidelines.
• Center staff will use protective equipment if a home visit is necessary.

The Center will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation as information is received and make changes as necessary in order to keep clients and staff as safe as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this unprecedented time. If you have any questions about Border Region services, you may email Border Region at brquestions@borderregion.org. The City of Laredo COVID-19, Hotline at 956-795-4954 is available for COVID-19 questions. Also you may call COVID-19 Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-986-1919.

If you are in crisis, please do not hesitate to call the Border Region Crisis Hotline at 1-800-643-1102.

Sincerely,

Maria Alonso-Sanchez
Executive Director
Border Region Behavioral Health Center

Welcome

Border Region Behavioral Health Center is a non-profit, tax-exempt contract agency of the state of Texas that is governed by a nine-member board of trustees appointed by
the county commissioner courts of Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, and Starr Counties.

The Laredo State Center was established as a facility of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in 1979 by the 66th Texas Legislature to provide mental health and mental retardation services and supports to the citizens of Webb, Jim Hogg, Starr, and Zapata counties. Previously, from 1969 to 1979, the center operated as a mental health outreach clinic of the Rio Grande State Center, headquartered in Harlingen.

Laredo State Center’s administrative and outpatient offices were located in a former Air Force-Base Hospital. The 73rd Texas Legislature approved bond funding for construction of a modern facility through a rider to the General Appropriations Act. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new facility were held in January 1996, on 14.5 acres of land provided in a trust to the Center by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1982. The Center was built to be culturally sensitive and designed to accommodate growth in the number of persons served.

On September 1, 2000, the Laredo State Center transitioned into a community center. Community Centers such as Border Region MHMR, were established in local communities throughout Texas to provide mental health and mental retardation services to persons most in need of services – especially those individuals identified as priority population i.e. primarily at risk of hospitalization or State School placement; or exiting from one of these facilities). The driving principal was that persons with mental illness and persons with mental retardation should be educated and live, work, and play in the same setting as all Texans – in their community near family and friends.

In 2011, Border Region MHMR changed its name to Border Region Behavioral Health Center. Today, the Center employs 270 people to serve 3597 clients with a budget of 13.9 million dollars. Border Region Behavioral Health Center is designated as a Local Mental Health Authority and a Mental Retardation Authority.

This designation reflects the delegation of the State’s authority for planning, policy development, coordination, resource allocation and resource development for and oversight of mental health and mental retardation services in the local service area.

Border Region Behavioral Health Center does not discriminate against race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit based factors. These protections extend to all management practices and decisions, including recruitment and hiring practices, appraisal systems, promotions, training, and career development programs.

YES Waiver Inquiry Line (844) 503-6182 | 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: 1-800-643-1102

First Episode Psychosis (FEP) (956) 794-3178

1500 Pappas Street Laredo, TX 78041

Ph. (956) 794-3000