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Mid Shore Behavioral Health briefs Dorchester County on services, suicide-prevention work and crisis funding concerns
Summary
Mid Shore Behavioral Health presented FY25/26 program activity and regional initiatives to the Dorchester County Council on June 17, highlighting crisis-response services, suicide-prevention outreach (including a June 26 community event), distribution of gun locks, and concerns about the sustainability of mobile crisis teams under new Medicaid fee-for-service rules.
Mid Shore Behavioral Health (MSBH) officials delivered a FY25/26 update to the Dorchester County Council during its June 17 meeting, outlining regional behavioral health programs, suicide-prevention efforts and funding challenges for mobile crisis teams.
MSBH Chief Executive Officer Kathryn G. Dilley and Behavioral Health Coordinator J. Howard summarized services serving the five‑county Mid‑Shore region, including 9‑8‑8/MD Recovery Network coverage, mobile crisis and stabilization services, crisis beds, recovery housing, school‑based supports and assisted‑living behavioral health initiatives. The presentation materials noted programmatic expansion and awards over recent years and included utilization figures for mental‑health and substance‑use services in the region.
MSBH staff described targeted suicide‑prevention work in Dorchester County: distribution of gun locks through a regional grant program, creation of a Mid‑Shore Suicide Coalition, and community events. The presentation included an announcement of a June 26 community program featuring speaker Kevin Hines and a screening of the documentary "Stay Alive" at Cambridge South Dorchester High School.
MSBH also warned that a shift toward a Medicaid fee‑for‑service reimbursement model for mobile crisis teams, and new COMAR regulations requiring licensed clinicians and peers on each dispatch, pose sustainability challenges for rural teams. The slides and comments said current reimbursement levels and workforce shortages mean teams would have to respond many times more frequently to reach the revenue needed for operations; MSBH said it continues to advocate for preservation of grant funds to supplement reimbursement shortfalls.
The presentation described local Dorchester County activity and partnerships, including: Minary's Dream Alliance adolescent clubhouse support in Cambridge, partnership with the Dorchester County Health Department on naloxone vending and training, and Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) engagement with family units in the county. MSBH noted distribution of over 2,000 gun locks across the Mid‑Shore region and cited the organization's role in coordinating regional crisis resources.
The Council accepted MSBH's request to continue its Core Service Agency FY26 Letter of Agreement to act as the regional agent for planning and oversight of public behavioral health in the county. No formal vote count beyond unanimous approval is recorded in the minutes.
The presentation's materials are on the meeting record; MSBH contacts listed in the slides include Kathryn G. Dilley and J. Howard.
