The county’s director of behavioral health services and two Lawrence public health professionals will share statistics Wednesday with the Douglas County Commission that point to the need for increased behavioral health services in the county.

The report — prepared by Bob Tryanski, county director of behavioral health projects; Dan Partridge, executive director of the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department; and Ava Trahan, Lawrence Memorial Hospital data analytics director — draws its statistics from the records of several local health organizations, including LMH Health, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and DCCCA. Data from state agencies was also used to create the report.

The report comes as county voters consider whether to approve a quarter-cent sales tax on the Nov. 6 general election ballot that would build an $11 million behavioral health campus and provide nearly $4.15 million in additional behavioral health programming.

Douglas County Commission Chair Nancy Thellman said the report was not timed to build support for the sales tax, but was part of the County Commission’s efforts to use data analysis to pinpoint needs.

“It is part of our effort to be transparent about the behavioral health needs in the county,” she said.

The report includes an analysis of behavioral health-related visits to the LMH emergency department in 2017. It found that 2,700 patients making one-time LMH emergency room visits for behavioral health issues had no prior treatment for mental illness or substance abuse. “In other words, these individuals may be insufficiently receiving resources or supports,” the report concludes.

On the other end of the spectrum, the report states that 122 people sought emergency room treatment for behavioral health issues at least four times in 2017. The report states the number of frequent repeat visitors raised the question of whether they were getting the help they needed.

The report states that more reports will follow in the coming months. Those will provide recommendations based on the successful efforts of other communities.

In other business, the County Commission will:

• Receive a briefing from Kansas Department of Transportation engineers on the environmental impact study needed before the west leg of Kansas Highway 10 — the South Lawrence Trafficway — can be upgraded to four lanes. Keith Browning, Douglas County public works director, said the presentation will explain the purpose and goals of the environmental impact study and the opportunities for public involvement.

• Have a 6 p.m. public hearing on a site plan submission from Acheson Properties LLC for a 12,400-square-foot seed distribution warehouse at U.S. Highway 56 and East 2100 Road about 3.5 miles east of Baldwin City. In a memo to commissioners, the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department recommends approval of the site plan.