Cannon Memorial Hospital in Avery County, a rural facility in western North Carolina, has converted unused acute care beds into psychiatric capacity to address surging demand for behavioral health services. The small psychiatric unit had received more than 5,000 patient referrals from across the state each year but could only admit about 11 percent of those patients, while its 10 behavioral health beds remained almost always full.
New Facility Opens
On November 15, the Appalachian Regional Behavioral Health Hospital officially opened to the public. The new 27-bed adult behavioral health facility operates under the same roof as Cannon Memorial but maintains a separate entrance. The hospital received a grant from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services for the conversion project, funded from proceeds of the sale of the Dorothea Dix psychiatric hospital property in Raleigh, according to Carmen Lacey, president and chief nursing officer of Cannon Memorial Hospital.
Federal Exemption and Staffing
Cannon Memorial received a special exemption from the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare to expand the behavioral health unit beyond the typical upper limit of 16 beds for behavioral health hospitals. “We received an exemption from CMS for that particular regulation as long as we had two separate hospitals under the same roof,” Lacey said in a video interview with the North Carolina Health Care Association. “We are the first in the country to be given the exemption by CMS.” The hospital is hiring for about 50 new positions and planned to open in phases, with a goal of full operational status by the end of December.
Access and Patient-Centered Features
The new hospital accepts walk-in patients and referrals from emergency departments across the state. According to Stephanie Greer, behavioral health services director at Appalachian Regional Health, this addresses a critical gap: “We know that in the state of North Carolina, the traditional way — almost the only way — to access inpatient mental health services is via an emergency department.” The facility includes space to assess up to five patients simultaneously and features a designated visitation area for visitors under age 12, allowing postpartum mothers and other patients to maintain family connections during treatment. The hospital also includes a courtroom where judges and legal representatives can meet with patients and doctors to determine treatment steps for those admitted under involuntary commitment.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2021/11/15/rural-nc-hospital-opens-more-psychiatric-beds-to-meet-rising-mental-health-need/