<body><div>The Link, a 24-hour triage center for people in crisis in the Sioux Falls area, is looking for a new operator as demand for services increases.Patient encounters at the center at 132 N. Dakota Ave. were up 8 percent year over year through July 31, totaling 2,305 compared with 3,630 in all of 2025.The Link is meant to bring “a sense of respect and dignity for this population that doesn’t always get it,” Thomas Otten, vice president of Avera Behavioral Health Services, said in an update Tuesday to the City Council.“There’s no wrong door. We accept everyone.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0qfGfc_1EzoTATC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0qfGfc_1EzoTATC00" width="1920" height="1440" ></figure>Avera was the only respondent to a request for operators of The Link when it opened in 2021. It has not been rebid since that time.“This is just a time to look at it, and we’re ready to see if there’s something innovative or something new or somebody who wants to do this,” Otten said.While Avera does not plan to bid on the agreement, “we will not walk away from it,” he said. “If we don’t find somebody who steps forward to say they can do this for the dollars we have available, we’re not walking away, but we’re not submitting an RFP either.”The facility offers 24-hour access to a healthcare professional for those in need of:<ul><li>Acute intoxication services — Sobering Observation Program with 13 beds</li><li>Substance withdrawal services — Withdrawal Management Program with 10 beds</li><li>Mental health crisis care — Crisis Stabilization Program with three chairs</li><li>Post-sexual assault care in collaboration with Solace</li></ul>“We had one (person) very recently that was over 300 times that they had said no to getting detox services,” Otten said.Once someone agrees to a medically supported detox — as this person ultimately did — it’s a two- to seven-day process, he said.“From there, we’re linking them to that next set of services, whatever that may be.”Three chairs are designated for mental health patients “that maybe don’t need an inpatient level of care but need something more than ‘See your counselor next week,'” Otten said.A chemical dependency counselor from Southeastern Behavioral HealthCare also works in the building.“There are times the facility is nearly at capacity, and it requires us to be very creative in how we meet those needs,” Otten said.<h2>By the numbers</h2>Two in three patients indicated they could not have found help if The Link was not available.Many of those seen come repeatedly. Through July, The Link saw 351 unique individuals, versus 694 for all of last year. About one in four were connected to inpatient treatment.Nearly eight in 10 people visiting The Link did not have permanent housing.Since The Link opened in June 2021, there have been 19,287 patient encounters and 4,779 unique individuals seen.Nearly 700 emergency room visits were estimated to have been diverted by The Link last year.“This is a critical service,” Otten said, adding that before The Link, hospital emergency departments “would see the same patient two or three or four times in the ED. That has largely gone away.”The biggest change, though, is in the Minnehaha County Jail, where bookings for detox services in 2020 totaled 2,612, and the number dropped to 41 last year.“These patients were largely housed in jail, which I would make a pretty strong case was largely inappropriate,” Otten said, calling The Link a “therapeutic approach.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2jBifQ_1EzoTATC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2jBifQ_1EzoTATC00" width="1920" height="992" ></figure>The option also “returns officers to their patrol cars much, much faster,” Otten said, estimating a 10- to 15-minute average drop-off at The Link versus an hour taking someone to jail or two to four hours going to an emergency department.“It changes the trajectory of lives,” he said. “But there is a return on investment from a financial standpoint.”For Avera, it’s “a little complex” being a funding partner as well as the operator, Otten said.Avera contributes more than any other entity to The Link, which still is projecting a $546,000 budget shortfall next year, though it could be made up through insurance reimbursement and a state contract.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4U7T9e_1EzoTATC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4U7T9e_1EzoTATC00" width="1720" height="1522" ></figure>The Link’s contract for management with Avera runs through the end of the year.There have been questions received from an organization that might be interested in operating the facility since the RFP was issued, Otten said.City Councilor Rich Merkouris questioned if The Link was offering “Cadillac services” with its full-service medical detox option and additional health care for the patient, versus the sort of “social detox” that used to be done in jail.“Is there anywhere in the middle between those two that puts us in an economic sweet spot but still delivers a therapeutic option above and beyond a jail option?” he asked.That’s partly why an RFP was issued, Otten said — to see “is there any innovative new idea that is an in-between spot.”Twenty-four hour nursing care is required for the level of accreditation The Link earned, which allows for insurance reimbursement, he added.“I do think the medically managed component is really important for this city to hold onto,” he said.</div></body>

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The Link, a 24-hour triage center for people in crisis in the Sioux Falls area, is looking for a new operator as demand for services increases. Patient encounters at the center at 132 N. Dakota Ave. were up 8 percent year over year through July 31, totaling 2,305 compared with 3,630 in all of 2025.

The Link to look for new operator as demand grows for services

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The Link, a 24-hour triage center for people in crisis in the Sioux Falls area, is looking for a new operator as demand for services increases. Patient enc

The Link to look for new operator as demand grows for services

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