Trillium Health Resources updates commissioners on services in Northampton County; mobile clinic and school programs highlighted

Trillium Health Resources provided an overview of services and outreach in Northampton County, telling commissioners the tailored plan region covers 46 counties and that Trillium acts as a public behavioral-health plan for people with Medicaid who have severe mental-health, substance-use or developmental disabilities.

Bobbie Alom, regional vice president for Trillium, said 489 Northampton County residents received services between July and December; she gave a breakdown of the unduplicated count by need category: about 381 for mental health, 98 for substance-use disorder and 60 for developmental disability services. Alom said the tailored plan population in Northampton represented roughly 7% of county Medicaid recipients at the time the data were pulled.

Alom and Trillium staff described community efforts including a mobile behavioral-health clinic that visits the county several times per month, school-based substance-abuse-prevention programming (an in-school “Signs of Suicide” rollout at the high school) and an interagency simulation to help professionals understand family navigation of services. Annette, Trillium’s community liaison for the county, described participation on the county’s child-protection and adult-multidisciplinary teams and work with local opioid-crisis and elder-abuse prevention coalitions.

Commissioners asked how the mobile unit’s schedule is publicized; Trillium said providers post a calendar online and share schedules with stakeholders, and that word-of-mouth and partner outreach also notify residents. In response to a question about barriers to access, Alom said stigma remains a key impediment to care in rural communities and noted transportation is an ongoing challenge.

Ending: Trillium asked for board support of upcoming town halls and outreach as the plan expands regional operations; no board action was required.