VIA/Vital Health updates commissioners on new walk‑in crisis center, mobile crisis and Medicaid managed‑care changes

Vital Health (VIA) representatives gave the Chatham County Board of Commissioners a quarterly service update on Feb. 19, outlining a new walk‑in crisis center, changes in Medicaid managed care and the county’s recent mobile crisis provider change.

VIA representative Karen (last name not specified) said the walk‑in crisis center that opened Nov. 15 in Chatham County aims to divert people from emergency departments and provide same‑day triage and assessment. VIA reported most visits are outpatient video or in‑person assessments and that readmissions remain low in the dataset VIA presented.

The presentation explained that North Carolina’s move to “tailored plans” for Medicaid introduces integrated care management — combining physical, behavioral and pharmacy benefits under managed care organizations. VIA said it is conducting community outreach and enrollment education after the program rollout began in December. VIA staff also described the Innovations waiver (for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), noting the waiver’s high per‑person spending ceiling and that counties are receiving additional waiver slots from the General Assembly.

On mobile crisis services, VIA said Monarch is the county’s new mobile crisis provider and that in the most recent reporting period 19 people were served countywide. VIA encouraged broader use of mobile crisis to support people in community settings and noted that anyone — not only VIA members — can call the mobile crisis line for de‑escalation assistance or to request onsite teams that may include clinical staff and coordinate with law enforcement when appropriate.

Commissioners asked for clarification about what the mobile crisis team includes, whether services are available for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and how Innovations waiver slots are allocated. VIA said it is inventorying how many local members use IDD services and exploring whether a day‑treatment model like a Monarch facility might be feasible in Chatham.

The update included VIA’s service‑level statistics (age groups, service intensity, inpatient admissions and readmission rates), and VIA staff said they will follow up with details on county‑level Innovations waiver slot allocations.

The commissioners did not take action on the VIA report; staff said they would provide follow‑up details requested by commissioners.