TAMPA, Fla. — The Federal Communications Commission is working to route 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline calls based on physical location, rather than a caller's area code.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline calls coming into the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay are currently routed by area code. The FCC is working to change that so they will be routed based on the caller's physical location.

Tampa Crisis Center President and CEO Clara Reynolds says using geolocation would help provide quicker access to support.

“We can provide you with whatever you need — yes, that emotional help and support," she said. "But maybe you need active rescue, maybe you need immediate hospitalization. We can facilitate that much easier here in our own community where we know all the resources and we know how to get to those individuals, versus when those calls are coming in from different locations."

Reynolds said that of the more than 9,000 calls that came into the Crisis Center last year, 19% of the callers were not physically in Hillsborough County. She said that can create challenges when trying to help a caller.

“While we can still offer them all the emotional support — we can help to de-escalate the situation," she said. "We can not get them effectively and efficiently to the resources because of where they are."

FCC officials say they have called on wireless and related industries to look into 988 routing solutions, and expect to pass a new rule to ensure access to mental health support is efficient and safe.

“This is the next most important step, in my opinion, to really getting 988 to exactly where it should be," Reynolds said. "A local response for somebody who is having a local crisis."