MCES

MCES, also known as Montgomery County Emergency Services, is a private psychiatric facility located in West Norriton on the grounds of Norristown State Hospital. It is a seperate entity from the state hospital itself, and operates as a jail-diversionary program on behalf of Montgomery County. It is known locally by its old Norristown Hospital affiliation- Building #50.

MCES was founed in Febraury 1974 in Building #16 as a temporary crisis service for the county until the local clinics were operational enough to manage the closure of state hospital beds. However, the local clinics never did manage to address the issue of their more acute cliental. In the early 1970's Psychiatric Crisis Services were limited to medical hospital, if they existed at all. MCES was originally put in place to address the various contacts that the mentally ill had with local law enforcement. Its founder, Dr. Angelo Zosa, saw the need for a resource that would provide 24-hour psychiatric evaluations and emergency care regardless of insurance coverage, as well as give police departments the proper training for handling a psychiatric population.