A retiring doctor’s unexpected gift and, later, a jarring email received by a local fire chief began a process now coming full circle with the opening of a first-of-its-kind care center in Lake County for first responders and veterans.
Frontline Care Center in downtown Round Lake will offer outpatient mental health support and wellness services for those who often are reluctant to seek help, experts say.
Assistance will be available for current and former first responders, including 911 operators as well as active duty, reservists and armed forces veterans experiencing symptoms or behavioral challenges.
The center, which opens Monday, was made possible by a $2.3 million allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds by the Lake County Board to Nicasa Behavioral Health to renovate and operate the facility. The Veterans Assistance Commission of Lake County, Living Pono Counseling and the 100 Club of Illinois are other partners.
Its services are not free but are covered by health insurance.
Those involved in the project say first responders and veterans have higher than average suicide rates and are more likely than the general population to deal with anxiety, depression and other issues due to the nature of their work.
“The job has an impact and that impact is because of the work they’re doing to help people,” said Greg Formica, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District chief.
Bruce Johnson, CEO of Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, stands in a room with a high-tech therapy area to help treat PTSD symptoms inside the Frontline Care Center in downtown Round Lake.
John Starks/[email protected]
“As first responders, we kind of have the idea we’re impervious to things. We’re not,” added Formica, who originated and pursued the idea for a front-line care center.
The genesis was in January 2022 when doctor Jai Nho, who was about to retire after practicing in town for decades, was considering the future of his building. One day when a fire inspector was on-site, he offered it to the fire department.
“My first thought was, ‘What am I going to do with a doctor’s office?’” Formica recalled. “But I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.”
Lake County’s first veterans and first responder wellness center is celebrating a grand opening Monday in a renovated former doctor’s office in downtown Round Lake.
John Starks/[email protected]
That’s how things sat until the day of the real estate closing, when Formica got an email saying a firefighter in another department took his own life.
“I thought to myself, ‘Why does that happen? What keeps people from getting help?’” Formica said. “I thought, ‘Here’s a great idea. What do I do with it?’”
Formica contacted Bruce Johnson, CEO of Nicasa, also headquartered in Round Lake. Johnson is a veteran Marine who served in Afghanistan and a former Round Lake Park police chief.
“You don’t turn it off,” Johnson said of the first responder mindset. “The idea is to intentionally think about these populations and truly try to care for them and do it with respect and understanding.”
Bruce Johnson, CEO of Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, right, talks with Greg Formica, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District chief, and Fire Marshal Tony Breuscher, left, at the Frontline Care Center opening Monday in downtown Round Lake.
John Starks/[email protected]
Johnson said although long-term effects are well known, first responders and veterans are among the most difficult to get into care.
Formica said about 4,000 men and women responded to 85,000 requests for emergency fire and EMS service in Lake County in 2022. The work can result in “emotional wear” and though there is a network of mental health services in Lake County, available services don’t meet their special needs, program supporters say.
Formica and others pitched the idea to a special county board committee evaluating requests for ARPA money.
In July 2023, an appearance on behalf of such a center was punctuated by tearful, halting public comment by Bonnie Barrington, the widow of John Barrington, former Ela Township assessor and community leader.
Both were veterans. Bonnie Barrington recounted her husband’s suicide after struggling 15 years with PTSD. His medication had been abruptly stopped, she said, and there was no follow up, counseling or place to get help.
“I can’t help but think if something like this existed 22 months ago I wouldn’t be talking about my husband in the past tense, but he would be here standing with me advocating for this, too,” she said.
At the time, some questioned the idea of a separate stand-alone center, saying it could perpetuate the idea that people might be ashamed to seek mental health resources.
But a consensus agreed it was worthwhile to provide treatment specifically to those who aren’t getting it.
“I think they did a great job of articulating why seeking care can be different for first responders and this approach was important,” said Paul Frank, a Lake County Board member from Highland Park and chair of the special finance committee.
Lake County Board member John Wasik of Grayslake described the need as “very present, very pressing and very troubling.”
“We need to tackle this,” he said. “We need to break the mold and try to take some new approaches.”
Contact the Frontline Care Center at [email protected] or call (847) 201-7095 to schedule an appointment.
Frontline Care Center logo. Lake County’s first outpatient mental health site for current and former first responders and veterans is opening in Round Lake.
Courtesy of Frontline Care Center