Behavioral Health Services considers opening office at UHS
CHENANGO COUNTY – UHS Chenango Memorial may become the newest site for behavioral health treatment that’s offered by Chenango County’s Behavioral Health Service Center.
Chenango County Behavioral Health Services is entertaining a notion to open a satellite clinic inside UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, something state law had prohibited.
But with recent changes in state law which now permit behavioral services in a hospital setting, swayed by the legislature’s push to combine health services, a Behavioral Health Services office in the hospital is likely in the near future, according to BHS Director Ruth Roberts.
“It’s still very early in the process,” said Roberts, “but I think with new waivers that are available that there’s a good possibility that we can get this done.”
The department’s first attempt at establishing such a clinic was in 2014, but requests were denied by the state Department of Health.
Since then, as a result of changes from DOH, integration of primary care and behavioral health services have not only been allowed, but encouraged.
Advocates of combined physical and mental health treatments argue that having both services under one roof increase chances that a person in need will seek help.
“This is about getting out there and expanding exposure, but it’s also working toward integrated care,” Roberts explained. “We have to understand and accept the fact that physical health affects behavioral health and behavioral health affects physical health. We have to be able to look at a person more holistically and have all healthcare providers working together to help that individual achieve positive health outcomes.”
But this isn’t without a price tag. To staff a center would come at a cost to taxpayers, which Roberts said would be recouped by billing Medicaid and insurance providers for rendered services.
Roberts’ next step is to submit an application to the state. She intends to seek support from the county Board of Supervisors this month.
In 2016, Behavioral Health Services made similar efforts by opening satellite locations in some local school districts, including Norwich. The goal was to remove barriers preventing kids from mental health treatment.
Behavioral Health Services is also considering a proposal from Bassett Healthcare to offer primary care in its main office at the Chenango County office building on Court Street in Norwich.
Chenango County Behavioral Health Services is entertaining a notion to open a satellite clinic inside UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, something state law had prohibited.
But with recent changes in state law which now permit behavioral services in a hospital setting, swayed by the legislature’s push to combine health services, a Behavioral Health Services office in the hospital is likely in the near future, according to BHS Director Ruth Roberts.
“It’s still very early in the process,” said Roberts, “but I think with new waivers that are available that there’s a good possibility that we can get this done.”
The department’s first attempt at establishing such a clinic was in 2014, but requests were denied by the state Department of Health.
Since then, as a result of changes from DOH, integration of primary care and behavioral health services have not only been allowed, but encouraged.
Advocates of combined physical and mental health treatments argue that having both services under one roof increase chances that a person in need will seek help.
“This is about getting out there and expanding exposure, but it’s also working toward integrated care,” Roberts explained. “We have to understand and accept the fact that physical health affects behavioral health and behavioral health affects physical health. We have to be able to look at a person more holistically and have all healthcare providers working together to help that individual achieve positive health outcomes.”
But this isn’t without a price tag. To staff a center would come at a cost to taxpayers, which Roberts said would be recouped by billing Medicaid and insurance providers for rendered services.
Roberts’ next step is to submit an application to the state. She intends to seek support from the county Board of Supervisors this month.
In 2016, Behavioral Health Services made similar efforts by opening satellite locations in some local school districts, including Norwich. The goal was to remove barriers preventing kids from mental health treatment.
Behavioral Health Services is also considering a proposal from Bassett Healthcare to offer primary care in its main office at the Chenango County office building on Court Street in Norwich.
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