The same exact thing happened to my mother. She was talking to a triage nurse at an outpatient center as well. The sheriff and my father showed up at the house.

It wasn't a crisis line, she was even calling on the advice of her psychiatrist, and well, things didn't go exactly as they should have in her situation, but, then again, lord only knows what my mother actually said to the nurse.

However, as the nurse was a health care provider, she did have, in her mind, an obligation to intervene. Was she too quick to act? Perhaps, but I think you have to consider the alternative to her doing nothing.

As it turns out, it wasn't the facility that contacted my father, it was the sheriff department themselves. I don't know whether HIPPA applies to them. Their reasoning was that they feared a highly volatile, potentially fatal situation - one they were ill equipped to handle - which is true, most first responders are woefully undertrained in mental health situations and can, in reality, make a situation much worse. Their goal was to provide the best chance at diffusing the situation. It was a good call.

In this case, although it was clearly a wild overreaction, sometimes it is best to act with an abundance of caution.

FWIW, my dad was miffed and embarrassed too, but only for a little while.