In this two-part series, the Carolina Business Review takes a look at mental health policies in the Carolinas. The panel of speakers, including local law enforcement, mental health advocates, state health and human services leaders and university researchers, commended the actions taken by the McCrory Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services to improve mental health services in North Carolina.
Clips from the series:
"They [the McCrory Administration] set up a Medicaid Reform Advisory Group. They listened to people across the state. Anybody could submit comments on the website, and as Dr. Wos said, they listened and they listened and they listened. And they're rolling out a compromise plan that does not get rid of the LME/MCOs. That keeps them. It does consolidate them. But it may turn out to be that this administration is going to be a champion for bringing some stability to this system. -Mebane Rash, NC Center for Public Policy Research
"I would like to go back to the need to integrate physical care, primary health care, and behavioral health care and I think the whole medical home concept will kind of help bring that about. And I would give a lot of kudos to our administration because they're really concentrating on how to bring those together." -Deby Dihoff, MA, National Alliance on Mental Illness
"I'm encouraged about the programs. I like the CIT training, the crisis intervention training, which is available to police officers, to our detention staff, and to the prison correctional staff. I think that gives us a tool that we can use to be successful in dealing with individuals and recognize the issues and problems. That didn't always exist in law enforcement." -Chipp Bailey, Sheriff of Mecklenburg County
Click here to watch Part One - Mental Health Policy in the Carolinas
Click here to watch Part Two - Mental Health Policy in the Carolinas
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