Agenda 03-01-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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19 1 Commissioner Hamilton said it would be helpful to get an idea from WakeBrook on how 2 many beds they have, the number they serve, etc. 3 Caitlin Fenhagen said that while they do not have those numbers with them tonight, they 4 have had conversations with other model facilities and received a lot of information. She said 5 that further data analysis is needed to determine needs for Orange County specifically. She said 6 the facility in Orange County will be smaller than the ones in Wake and Buncombe counties. 7 Commissioner Hamilton said when the numbers are available, she would like to see the 8 estimated costs for building the facility. She said that she sees the need for a crisis facility in 9 Orange County. 10 Commissioner Fowler said she has been on the Behavioral Health Task Force and 11 agrees that the facility is needed. She said there is also a need for warm handoffs and that she 12 is happy to see inclusion of outpatient services. She said that providers are also needed and 13 she is not sure how to address that issue. She asked if patients are charged for services at 14 WakeBrook like any other medical facility and if they accept insurance. She asked if patients do 15 not have insurance how their services are paid for. She asked if the county pays into operations 16 of the facility. She asked if UNC has made any commitments to Orange County for operational 17 services and if not, are there any other providers that the County is considering. 18 Travis Myren said they formally reached out to UNC Health Care two weeks ago and 19 should receive a response soon about their interest. He said that Alliance Health has been 20 involved in all task force meetings but he does not know of any funding commitment they might 21 be able to make but they are certainly at the table. He said that in terms of operating costs, they 22 want to be sure the facility can accept all forms of payment from private insurance to Medicaid 23 or any funds that Alliance Health administers. 24 Tony Marimpietri said a typical model would include the operator of the facility does 25 billing and where possible, through insurance. He said the county would also pay for operational 26 expenses and Alliance Health would pay for the uninsured. He said this would allow the facility 27 to accept all patients and payers. 28 Commissioner Greene thanked the task force for their work and thoughtful planning. She 29 said that she was on the simulated mapping and that this is more needed than ever. She said 30 that even though opioid settlement money is not in hand yet, it is not too soon to ask questions 31 to the NC Department of Justice on how they can determine exactly how much of this need is 32 attributed to opioid use disorders. She said that would be an approved use of the facility. 33 Caitlin Fenhagen said the Buncombe County facility got a large grant from NC 34 Department of Health and Human Services for their facility. She said there are also capital 35 campaigns and private funders who may be interested. She said that Buncombe facility had 36 multiple streams of funding to create what they have now. She said they are not just looking at 37 county resources. 38 Commissioner Richards said this is her first-time seeing details about this facility. She 39 said she is really glad to see the expansion for minors to include ages 4-17. She said that 40 almost every parent she knows is searching for support at one point or another for their 41 children. She asked if UNC Hospital or University was part of the stakeholder group. 42 Tony Marimpietri said it was UNC Hospitals emergency department since it is frequently 43 loaded with behavioral health cases. He said that one of the goals of the facility is to help with 44 the emergency department capacity. He said it was not the university. 45 Commissioner Richards said that anything the county does usually involved students 46 and asked if it was being looked at as a service to the university in terms of funding and 47 partnership. She asked if the cost savings review was a cost avoidance model and how the 48 savings are being factored. 49 Tony Marimpietri said they have not started that yet, but there are savings to health 50 facilities and the full impacts have yet to be determined.