What Montgomery County Emergency Service does

Montgomery County Emergency Service (MCES), founded in 1974 and headquartered at 50 Beech Drive, Norristown, Pennsylvania, is a private, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital providing crisis and acute behavioral health services across Montgomery and Delaware Counties in the Delaware Valley. The organization operates a 73-bed acute inpatient psychiatric unit, a 24/7 walk-in crisis center, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline call center, one of the few psychiatric EMS units in the world, and the 8-bed Carol's Place crisis residential program on the campus of Eagleville Hospital. Specialized programs include the Ongoing Abstinence Recovery Schedule (OARS), My Action Plan (MAP) for Relapse Prevention, the G.I.F.T.S. recovery cards, Community Based Care Management (CBCM), psychoeducation groups, Comfort Rooms, and the Inpatient Suicide Prevention Awareness Group.

MCES's underlying technology is largely clinical and programmatic rather than algorithmic: an Electronic Medical Record system launched in 2012 supports a multidisciplinary team of 200+ professionals (psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, social-service caseworkers, allied therapists, certified peer specialists, and psychiatric technicians). Its proprietary, registered-trademark assets are the OARS program and the CIS (Crisis Intervention Specialist) training curriculum — the first municipal police mental-health training program in the United States, established in 1976, now serving as the standard for 13 Montgomery County police departments and adopted on a fee-for-service basis by external jurisdictions. Technology certifications include Joint Commission accreditation and Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Department of Health licensure.

MCES's business model is a hybrid of insurance/Medicaid reimbursement, county and state government contracts (notably for 988 Lifeline operations, criminal-justice and correctional psychiatric services, and CBCM), individual patient billing regardless of ability to pay (the organization never turns patients away for inability to pay), fee-for-service CIS training for out-of-county emergency responders, and charitable donations processed via PayPal, AmazonSmiles, and direct giving. Customer segments span adults with serious mental illness in psychiatric crisis, co-occurring disorder patients, individuals contacting the 988 Lifeline (~7,200 calls/year, ~1,000 in-person engagements/month), law-enforcement and correctional personnel trained through CIS, and older adults served through county suicide-prevention initiatives.

Name

Montgomery County Emergency Service

Legal name

Montgomery County Emergency Service, Inc.

Website

https://mces.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

MCES is a private, not-for-profit 73-bed psychiatric hospital in Norristown, Pennsylvania, delivering crisis intervention, inpatient care, psychiatric EMS, 988 Lifeline response, and criminal-justice training across Montgomery and Delaware Counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Health Services

NAICS

Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals (622210), Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities (623220)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro primary industry

Crisis Stabilization Units & Psychiatric Emergency Services (HLAFACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Forensic & Correctional Behavioral Health Services (HLAFACAM), Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers (HLAFACAI)

Keywords

• Psychiatric crisis services
• Behavioral health inpatient care
• Suicide prevention lifeline
• Crisis intervention training
• Mental health hospital

Headquarters

HQ city

Norristown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Healthcare Services Revenue: MCES provides care based on need and not insurance coverage. Services include crisis intervention, inpatient psychiatric care, psychiatric EMS, and 988 crisis hotline. Revenue comes from insurance reimbursements, Medicaid, and government contracts for serving Montgomery and Delaware Counties.
2. Charitable Giving and Donations: MCES welcomes donations to help meet immediate patient needs that may go unmet without support. Contributions may be made through PayPal, Amazon Smiles, and other giving sites. The organization never turns anyone needing care away due to inability to pay.
3. Training and Education Services: The Crisis Intervention Specialist (CIS) Program is available on a fee-for-service basis for emergency responders from areas outside Montgomery County. Training includes police officers, correctional officers, and other criminal justice personnel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MCES is a private, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital that delivers comprehensive behavioral health services from a 73-bed facility in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Core offerings include 24/7 walk-in crisis intervention, 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline response, acute inpatient psychiatric care, specialized psychiatric EMS transport, and the Crisis Intervention Specialist (CIS) training program for law enforcement. The organization serves individuals in psychiatric crisis, persons with serious mental illness, and those with co-occurring substance use disorders across Montgomery and Delaware Counties.

Product overview

MCES operates as a private, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital offering a comprehensive behavioral health service portfolio centered around four core services: Crisis Services (24/7 walk-in crisis center, call center, and 988 Lifeline), Inpatient Care (73-bed facility with recovery-oriented treatment), Psychiatric EMS (emergency transport with mental health-trained EMTs), and Criminal Justice Support (including the CIS Program). These core services are supported by specialized programs including the Ongoing Abstinence Recovery Schedule (OARS) for co-occurring disorders, Carol's Place crisis residential program, suicide prevention services, psychoeducation groups, Comfort Rooms, the Community Based Care Management program, and the G.I.F.T.S. recovery cards. The organization serves Montgomery County and adjacent communities from a single facility location.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carol's Place: Crisis Residential Program (CRP) providing 8-bed facility with home-like setting for individuals in mental health crisis recovery. Named in memory of Carol Caruso, former CRP Director and mental health advocate.

Products and services

• Crisis Services 24/7 walk-in crisis center providing crisis intervention services to individuals experiencing mental health crises or psychiatric emergencies, including a clinically-staffed 24/7 call center and 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline response.
• Inpatient Psychiatric Care 73-bed acute inpatient psychiatric care for adults at risk of harm to self or others due to serious mental illness, utilizing a recovery-oriented, strength-based, and trauma-aware multidisciplinary approach.
• Psychiatric EMS Psychiatric emergency medical service that transports individuals in crisis to appropriate facilities, with EMTs trained in mental health crisis intervention to stabilize and support patients.
• Crisis Intervention Specialist (CIS) Training Program First-of-its-kind police training program covering mental health law, psychiatric disorders, developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders; approved for CLEE credit and offered on a fee-for-service basis to departments outside Montgomery County.
• Carol's Place (Crisis Residential Program) 8-bed residential crisis services facility providing a home-like setting as an alternative to inpatient hospitalization for individuals in mental health crisis recovery.
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Call Center Service 24/7 crisis call answering service for Montgomery and Delaware Counties (area codes 215, 267, 484, 610), part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network, handling over 7,200 calls yearly and serving about 1,000 individuals in crisis each month.
• Ongoing Abstinence Recovery Schedule (OARS™) Program Voluntary proprietary program helping co-occurring disorder patients develop personal daily/weekly recovery schedules to sustain sobriety after discharge, aimed at reducing readmissions.
• My Action Plan (MAP) for Relapse Prevention Self-help relapse prevention program offering worksheets on recognizing triggers, building problem-solving skills, identifying supports, and understanding spirituality for co-occurring disorder patients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,200 calls answered yearly through 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for Montgomery and Delaware Counties
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Eagleville Hospital: Nonprofit psychiatric and substance-use hospital in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Directly comparable as a regional behavioral-health hospital operating in MCES's home market and currently hosting MCES's Carol's Place residential program.

Direct peers

• Friends Hospital: Private nonprofit psychiatric hospital in Philadelphia affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. Comparable as a community-based psychiatric hospital providing inpatient and crisis behavioral health services in the greater Philadelphia region.
• Belmont Behavioral Health System: Behavioral health hospital in Philadelphia offering inpatient, outpatient, and crisis services. Comparable as a regional psychiatric hospital serving a similar urban/suburban Pennsylvania population with a comparable service mix.
• Horsham Clinic: Behavioral health facility in Ambler, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania providing inpatient psychiatric and substance use treatment. Directly comparable as a community psychiatric provider in the same county as MCES.
• Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute: Joint psychiatric facility of Penn State Health and UPMC in Harrisburg providing inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services. Comparable as a mid-sized psychiatric hospital with a crisis and community service portfolio.
• Sheppard Pratt Health System: Large nonprofit behavioral health system headquartered in Maryland operating psychiatric hospitals and crisis services. Comparable as a nonprofit psychiatric provider with a similar continuum-of-care model and national recognition.

Broad incumbents

• Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health: Large national nonprofit operating residential, community, and crisis behavioral health programs across multiple states. Comparable as a nonprofit behavioral health operator with broader geographic reach than MCES.
• Merakey: National nonprofit behavioral health and human services provider with crisis, residential, and community programs in Pennsylvania and other states. Comparable as a diversified nonprofit behavioral health operator with overlapping service lines.
• Universal Health Services (UHS) Behavioral Health: Public company operating a large network of inpatient behavioral health facilities across the U.S., including acute psychiatric hospitals. Comparable as a scaled psychiatric hospital operator competing for the same patient and referral base, with broader capital resources.
• Acadia Healthcare: Public company operating a national network of psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment centers. Comparable as a scaled psychiatric hospital operator with similar inpatient and co-occurring disorder programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MontgomeryCountyEmergencyService
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/montgomery-county-emergency-service
• Xx.com/MCES1

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Montgomery County Emergency Service