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Oakland County approves MOU to co-locate behavioral health specialists at South Oakland Health Center
Summary
The Board approved a memorandum of understanding between the Oakland County Health Division and Oakland Community Health Network to co-locate behavioral health specialists at the South Oakland Health Center in Southfield. OCHN will cover staffing and operating costs; commissioners emphasized improving warm handoffs and access.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on March 4, 2025, allowing the Oakland County Health Division and Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN) to co-locate behavioral health specialists at the South Oakland Health Center in Southfield.
The MOU, introduced by Commissioner Powell and supported by Commissioner Erickson Gault, was described at the meeting by Kate Guzman, the county’s new health officer. Guzman said the county and OCHN will create an access point where OCHN behavioral-health specialists will be co-located with county clinical staff to triage, scribe and link patients to behavioral health services. She said OCHN will incur all staffing and related costs for the Southfield access point.
“Having their behavioral health specialist on-site at the South Oakland Health Center will be a direct linkage to care,” Guzman said, describing referrals ranging from mild to moderate anxiety and depression to crisis de-escalation and warm handoffs for post-assault victims and patients with suicidal ideation.
Commissioners welcomed the plan and noted a similar model at the Honor Community Clinic. Commissioner Gershenson said, “Welcome, Kate, and congratulations,” and asked for examples of services to be available; Guzman listed services including support for anxiety and depression, crisis de-escalation and direct linkage to mental-health providers to reduce barriers created by centralized access lines.
The committee approved the MOU; the clerk recorded the motion as carried with no recorded nays. No dollar amount was specified in the materials presented; county staff said OCHN will bear staffing and operational expenses for the co-located access point.
The agreement is intended to increase immediate access to behavioral health care in the southern part of Oakland County and provide a warm handoff from clinical staff to behavioral health specialists at the point of care.
