Gov. Josh Stein toured the recently opened ECU Health Behavioral Health Hospital in Greenville this week, praising its role in addressing mental health care shortages in eastern North Carolina while promoting his administration’s funding proposals for behavioral health services.
Hospital Capacity and Operations
The 144-bed facility, which opened in December in partnership with Acadia Healthcare, has served more than 150 patients since its opening, according to CEO Tyler Davis. The hospital currently has a staff of 100 and expects to employ more than 300 once fully operational. However, Stein noted that only one of the six units at the facility is currently running, with plans to expand as staffing becomes available. The hospital is the only dedicated inpatient mental health facility within 75 miles and has plans to expand to serve children and adolescents while offering intensive outpatient treatment.
Mental Health Landscape
Davis cited national data, stating that “across the country, one out of five Americans experiences a mental illness, with reports of as many as 45% of those people not receiving the care, not having access to the care that they need.” Stein emphasized that hundreds of inpatient beds sit empty across the state due to staffing shortages and called for expansion of similar facilities.
Funding and Policy Initiatives
Stein and Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai were in Greenville to promote the governor’s proposal seeking $319 million to fund Medicaid, which includes a 10% raise for nurses and behavioral health technicians at state hospitals. This proposal is part of a $1.4 billion critical needs budget the governor unveiled to address what he considers the state’s most pressing needs, separate from the short session budget the General Assembly will consider.
Sangvai noted that over the last year, the Department of Health and Human Services has funded the opening of seven new behavioral health urgent care centers and two mobile opioid treatment centers, with plans to expand to all 100 counties. Stein stressed that “Medicaid covers more than 3 million North Carolinians and is a primary payer of behavioral health care across the entire state” and supports rural hospitals. He also referenced Executive Order 33, signed in February, to improve connections between behavioral health and criminal justice systems.
Stein criticized the General Assembly for not passing a state budget, stating, “We’ve not passed the full budget in North Carolina for 2 1/2 years,” which he said has prevented the state from keeping pace with inflation and population growth.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.reflector.com/news/local/stein-visits-behavioral-health-hospital-advocates-for-medicaid-funding-budget/article_7f309c6b-8fc1-4fbb-9f25-a0ae7fdf0f0e.html