) STOKES COUNTY GOVERNMENT
COUNTY OF STOKES ) DANBURY, NORTH CAROLINA
) FEBRUARY 27, 2007
The Board of
Commissioners of the County of Stokes, State of North Carolina, met
in recessed session (recessed from the February 26, 2007 meeting) in
the Commissioners’
Chambers of the Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Building (Administrative
Building)
located in Danbury, North Carolina on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at
4:00 pm with the
following members present:
Chairman
Leon Inman
Vice-Chairman
Jimmy Walker
Commissioner Ron
Carroll
Commissioner
Ernest Lankford
Commissioner
Stanley Smith
County
Personnel in Attendance:
Clerk
to the Board/Interim County Manager Darlene Bullins
Finance
Director Julia Edwards
Others
in Attendance:
CEO Betty Taylor – CenterPoint
Finance Director Kevin
Beauchamp - CenterPoint
Mr.
Keith Merritt – Stokes Mental Health Association
Ms. Debbie Morton – Stokes
Mental Health Association
Chairman Leon Inman called the meeting to
order.
Vice Chairman Walker delivered the invocation.
Chairman Inman opened
the meeting by inviting the citizens in attendance to
join the Board with the Pledge of Allegiance.
GENERAL
GOVERNMENT – GOVERNING BODY – MENTAL HEALTH
CEO Betty Taylor
presented information to the Board of Commissioners regarding
a special one time allocation of $200,000 to Stokes County for mental
health.
Ms. Taylor presented
the following information regarding the one time allocation:
·
Up until last year, Medicaid revenues passed through to CenterPoint to
Medicaid providers
·
This year, the Medicaid revenues go directly to the Medicaid providers
·
This change created a 20% fund balance for CenterPoint which is
unacceptable by the State - Fund Balance cannot be larger than 15% by December
1, 2007
·
Division of Mental Health limits the LME Fund Balance to 15%
·
If the fund balance is not decreased by December 1, 2007, funding will
be subject to reversion back to the state
·
Recommendation was made to the Board of Directors and approved that
$200,000 allocation be made to Stokes, Davie and Forsyth Counties and to allow
each individual county to determine the best use of the one time allocation
·
This allocation does not have to be spent by the end of fiscal year
06-30-07
·
Must be allocated from CenterPoint to Davie, Forsyth, and Stokes before
06-30-07
·
Davie County plans to make renovations for a site similar to the Stokes
Opportunity Center
·
Forsyth County is considering to use allocation to enhance psychiatric
services
·
Must be used for mental health
·
Possible suggestions are to be used for a one time project to have
lasting impact and to be able to increase services for some short period that
would then have be cut if funding is not available from the County
The Board discussed the one time $200,000
allocation from CenterPoint.
Ms. Taylor spoke briefly concerning the
current fiscal year budget and the following
allocation of County Funding:
·
Arc of Stanly – Operators of Stokes Opportunity Center = approximately
$172,000 = 43%
·
Daymark =$55,000 = 12%
o
First Opinion Waiver
o
Home visits to clients
o
Psychiatric services in Winston Salem and King
o
Presently in Danbury one day a week
·
Triumph =$80,000 = 20%
o
Presently in Danbury one day a week
o
Community Service Support Program
o
Substance Abuse Services
o
Focuses on Medicaid Services
·
Partnership for Drug Free of NC = $23,000
o
Provides Substance Abuse Services
o
Located in Walnut Cove
o
Operates the Majors Program
·
Transportation Allocation = $20,000
·
Reserve – $20,000 for emergencies
·
Triumph and Daymark struggle to maintain offices in Danbury due to low
volume of clients
·
Staffing creates challenges on the northern side of the County for the
providers
·
Challenge to maintain a clinic in the northern part of the County
·
85% in King, 13% in Danbury, and 2% in Sandy Ridge/Madison area
·
Youth respond to the tele-medicine concept
·
Adults generally prefer to see an individual instead of the
tele-medicine concept
·
First quarter in 2007 – 382
consumers served(children-66 and adults 326)
·
Second quarter in 2007 – 323 consumers served (children -41 and adults
282)
·
Tracking will continue to provide CenterPoint with data information
regarding the number of individuals being served
·
First Quarter – Pharmaceutical prescriptions with retail value with
more than $75,000 have been brought to Stokes County
·
Second Quarter – Pharmaceutical prescriptions with retail value more
than $70,000 have been brought to Stokes County
·
Per capita – Stokes County = $8.68 with $3.78 going directly to the
Stokes
Opportunity Center
·
CenterPoint Crisis Plan will be submitted on March 1, 2007 to the State
·
15 regions be established for Crisis Services with CenterPoint being
elected as one of the LME as a stand alone region
·
CenterPoint has been working for 18 months to arrange bed space at
local hospitals for crisis assessment and inpatient acute care
·
Baptist nor Forsyth Hospital saw its way clear to make any proposal to
crisis assessment or inpatient acute care
·
Identified Old Vineyard Youth Facility in Forsyth County (formerly
Charter Hospital) as a possible site for crisis assessment and inpatient acute
care
·
Old Vineyard has agreed to partner with CenterPoint to offer 24/7
availability for consumers adults during Phase 1 (10 inpatient acute beds)
·
Phase II – Provides face to face counseling as soon as a psychiatric
bed is available
·
Phase III – can add 10-12 beds additional beds
·
This partnership with Old Vineyard would decrease the amount of time
that is being spent by deputies
·
Training has recently been given to Forsyth County Deputies and an
offer has been made to the Stokes County Sheriff’s Department for the upcoming
training
The Board discussed services being provided by
CenterPoint, the need to get
information to the citizens, the need for mental health services in
Stokes County, and options
for the $200,000 allocation.
The Board discussed
the following regarding the $200,000 one time allocation:
·
Possible capital improvements to the Stokes Opportunity Center in order
to house mental health services and more warehouse space to be able to provide
more training for consumers
·
The need to find out what Stokes County really needs for its citizens
and what is currently not being met
·
Gap Analysis Tool which is being prepared by the State (not released
yet) to help determine what is needed
·
Need to get all organizations involved and to communicate to each other
regarding services in the county and what services are not being met
·
Facility needs in the county for mental health services
·
T1 line for Teli-Medicine not currently being used by Daymark
President Keith Merritt – Stokes County Mental
Health Association presented input
regarding Mental Health issues in Stokes County:
·
Presented a brief history and update of Stokes Mental Health
Association
·
Need for public information to inform the citizens where to go for
mental health services
·
Need for CenterPoint to be more visible
·
Currently trying to develop a Trust Fund in the community
·
Need for agencies to communicate between each other
·
Funding to be spent for more substance abuse services
Ms. Debbie Morton –
Stokes Mental Health Association presented input regarding
Mental Health issues in Stokes County:
·
Need for more substance abuse treatment for adults – currently not
available
·
Seek information from providers, doctors, etc in the County to see
where they feel there is a weakness
·
Need for more available counseling
·
Need for more information to access assistance and referral sources
·
Need for more psychiatric services in Stokes County
·
Need for prevention services
·
Need to look at all areas associated with mental health
·
Access number for mental health services hard to maneuver through the
system
·
Need to educate doctors in the area about the access number
The Board further discussed the $200,000
allocation for one-time expenditures,
changes by the State and effects to the mental health services, not
enough state funding to
provide the needed services, too many administrators, and possibly to
look at the allocation as
a grant to start a desirable and workable mental health program for the
people of Stokes
County.
Chairman Inman reiterated the Board would look
at all options before allocating the
$200,000.
There being no further business to come before the Board, Chairman Inman
entertained a motion to
adjourn the recessed meeting.
Commissioner
Lankford moved to adjourn the recessed meeting. Vice Chairman
Walker seconded and the
motion carried unanimously.
_________________________ _____________________________
Darlene M.
Bullins J. Leon Inman
Clerk to the
Board
Chairman