Piedmont Community Services outlines crisis expansion, Marcus Alert roll‑out in Patrick County

Piedmont Community Services presented an annual update to the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, saying the regional provider has expanded immediate access to behavioral‑health care and is preparing a new crisis‑stabilization unit. Greg Preston, CEO of Piedmont Community Services, said the agency has nearly 500 staff across the region and serves thousands of residents annually.

Kelly Coble, Piedmont’s director of behavioral health, described a new same‑day access pathway that allows people to be assessed and connected to care five days a week and highlighted a mobile unit that reaches residents who cannot come to the office. “We now have what we call same day access,” Coble said, adding that the agency has grown crisis services and supports medication management, intensive coordination and outreach.

Coble also described local implementation of the Marcus David Peters Act, which she said allows 911 centers to transfer certain behavioral‑health calls directly to 988; she said that change took effect July 1 and that county dispatch has been a key partner. Preston and Coble said a cooperative grant across the region will fund a 12‑bed residential crisis stabilization unit with stays up to 14 days for people with mental‑health or substance‑use disorders.

The board heard that the stabilization unit will follow renovations at a recently purchased property and is intended to serve the broader Piedmont catchment area. Piedmont asked the board to continue supporting collaborative dispatch and crisis‑response partnerships as the program launches.