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Alamance Behavioral Health Center opens 16-bed facility; center reports majority diversion from EDs and jails
Summary
Via Health and RHA Health Services updated commissioners on the new Alamance Behavioral Health Center: a walk-in open-access center, 24/7 behavioral urgent care, pharmacy, peer living room and a newly opened 16‑bed facility-based crisis unit. Presenters said most visits so far are diverting people from emergency departments or jail.
Via Health and RHA Health Services told the Alamance County Commissioners that the Alamance Behavioral Health Center is operational and providing multiple services intended to redirect behavioral-health crises away from emergency rooms and jails.
Presenters described an on-site walk-in open-access center, a 24/7 behavioral urgent-care unit, a peer living room for drop-in peer support, an on-site Genoa Pharmacy, a mobile crisis team and a children’s-dedicated entrance. A 16-bed facility-based crisis (FBC) unit opened in early May and is intended to hold adults for short-term stabilization for mental-health or non–hospital-level medical detox needs.
Donald Drews, vice president of behavioral health and IDD network operations for Via Health, said the center’s walk-in assessment numbers are growing and that in one recent month the urgent-care unit diverted 101 people who otherwise would have gone to an emergency department or entered the jail system. He said about 83–90% of patients seen at the urgent-care unit have been diverted from EDs or jails.
Sarah Huffman, vice president with RHA Health Services, described the peer living room as a preventive, drop-in resource where people with lived experience provide peer support, and she noted active partnerships with community groups, including Alcoholics Anonymous. Presenters said Genoa Pharmacy is located on-site to reduce the gap when people are discharged without medications.
Why this matters: Commissioners heard that the center is intended to shorten response times to behavioral-health crises and to reduce law-enforcement and hospital burdens. Presenters said law enforcement is already using the facility; Alamance Burlington Police Department, the sheriff’s office and EMS are the largest referring agencies so far.
On next steps and limits: presenters said state regulations require an FBC to be operational for six months before the state will designate it as an involuntary-commitment (IVC) drop-off site. The team said they are asking state officials to expedite review; until or unless that designation is granted, the center will continue voluntary intake and crisis stabilization. Presenters acknowledged ongoing staffing challenges for behavioral-health services statewide and said telehealth will be used when in-person clinicians are not yet available.
Funding: presenters said the center was developed with multiple funding sources, including state appropriations, Medicaid (operational) and some General Assembly appropriations; opioid settlement funds were used for some programming but are a relatively small portion of the operating budget.
Ending: Commissioners praised the center as a major step in local crisis care; the sheriff and county staff encouraged continued outreach to municipalities and EMS to expand use and awareness.
