by

Dave Hardin, Public Information Officer

A significant change took place for Catawba County Government on July 1st. The agency that had been known as Mental Health Services of Catawba County moved from being a department of the county government to become a new stand-alone agency, called Mental Health Partners. One reason for using the word “partners” in the agency’s new title is that it’s the result of a merger of the former Burke County and Catawba County Mental Health Services to manage, but not provide, mental health related services for the citizens of those two counties.

This change was not sudden. It was discussed, and planned for, for more than two years. It is the latest result of the State of North Carolina’s Mental Health Reform, which was begun by the General Assembly back in 2004. As of July 1, 2004, the State mandated that counties move from being the direct provider of mental health services to become a manager of services.

Almost exactly four years ago, I wrote in this column about some of the results of that change; how Mental Health Services of Catawba County had become what’s known as a Local Managing Entity, or LME, the link to services for consumers and family members dealing with mental illness, developmental disabilities or substance abuse. The LME continued to establish local policies concerning the delivery of services, ensuring that the ideas of the local community were implemented.

The creation of the LME led to the formation of two new agencies. One is known as Family NET (which stands for Family Nurturing, Education and Treatment), a partnership with Catawba County Social Services, to provide a variety of child and family services previously administered by Mental Health Services. The other is Catawba Valley Behavioral Healthcare, a not for profit provider of services for consumers and family members dealing with mental illness, developmental disabilities or substance abuse.

As time passed, the State developed a set of guidelines regarding the number of people an LME should serve. Catawba County alone did not have enough people to fit the state’s criteria, so Catawba County officials began studying which existing agencies in our area might make good partners for the managing of mental health services in a larger LME. Burke and Catawba County officials eventually decided to study the idea of such a partnership.

Officials from the two counties held discussions on the ideas behind a partnership for many months and then, effective July 1, 2007, the counties actually merged mental health services with the intent to work toward the creation of the full partnership that is now known as Mental Health Partners.

John Hardy, who served as Catawba County’s Area Mental Health Services Director for many years, is now the Director of Mental Health Partners. The newly created agency still has offices in the First Plaza Building on Tate Boulevard in Hickory, as well as an office in Morganton. Catawba Valley Behavioral Healthcare remains in its same location off Fairgrove Church Road behind Catawba Valley Medical Center.

If you need immediate assistance in the area of mental health services, you may call 828-327-2595.

To learn much more about Mental Health Partners, I recommend you visit their web site at http://www.mentalhealthpartners.org. As John Hardy wrote in a welcome on that site, “Our focus is on managing services for those most in need and those with limited financial resources. We no longer provide the services. We are diligent about ensuring the best service possible is available, while providing consumers and their families with compassion, dignity and respect.”