Profile: PEMHS

Since the agency’s  beginning on October 1, 1981, Personal Enrichment through Mental Health Services, Inc. (PEMHS) (commonly pronounced “Pems”), a private, non-profit behavioral healthcare organization, has provided 24/7 crisis intervention and emergency mental health services.  Through the years, PEMHS has developed a continuum of programs whose service goals are to support families, prevent placement in more restrictive settings, and effectively address the crisis and long-term needs of the community.  PEMHS is the public receiving facility for Pinellas County, the most densely-populated of Florida’s 67 counties, housing 3,000 persons per square mile.  Pinellas has the fourth largest county population with over 900,000 residents.

The history of growth within the agency has been consistent through the years, and reflects committed dedication to providing the highest quality program at the lowest possible cost.  Services for adults include emergency screening and crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, and short-term residential treatment.  The agency maintains a 24-hour suicide telephone hotline.

Services for children include emergency screening and crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, group home, inpatient psychiatric treatment, and residential behavioral healthcare and respite care for girls within the juvenile justice system 

Community-based programs include preservation and reunification services, therapeutic foster care, crisis intervention for children & families at risk for abuse or neglect due to domestic violence; crisis intervention and brief therapy for elementary school aged youth and their families; intensive conditional release services for youth discharged from juvenile justice programs; and Family Emergency Treatment Center (FETC).

PEMHS now administers 21 programs; 11 are in-patient and 10 are community-based.  Programs are located in  6 locations throughout Pinellas County.  The agency bed count is now at 185.  At the close of the fiscal year on June 30, PEMHS had served a total of 8,253 adults, children and families in all programs.

PEMHS is licensed by the State of Florida, Department of Children & Families; and the Florida Agency on Health Care Administration.  The agency is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and is certified by the American Association of Suicidology.