Harrison County leaders, providers debate CSU staffing, diversion center plan and health-department footprint

Harrison County supervisors and local health providers spent the bulk of a meeting discussing the county’s crisis-stabilization services, an upcoming diversion center on Seaway Road and plans to relocate the county health department — issues county leaders said affect hospitals, law enforcement and a major ARPA funding deadline.

The discussion centered on whether the existing Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is being staffed and used to capacity, whether Pine Belt should continue management or the county should issue a request for proposals, how the diversion center would operate as a single point of entry for Harrison County, and whether the health department needs the 10,000–12,000 square feet planned for its new location. Participants also raised timeline and funding concerns, including a one-time ARPA allocation the board was told could lapse if not spent in time.

County, hospital and provider officials said the CSU — licensed for 16 beds but sometimes operating with fewer because of staff shortages — draws patients from multiple counties under state oversight. “We are fully…