Telecare to open new mental health facility this fall - Roseburg (OR) New-Review

Marissa Harshman - July 16

Last June, Mercy Medical Center approved a joint venture between Telecare, based in Alameda, Calif., and ChristieCare, of Portland, to bring adult and children’s mental health care to Douglas County. The plan was to have the two organizations provide services in Mercy’s Behavioral Health Unit building after the unit closed in October.

ChristieCare announced in November that it could not acquire funding to move forward with the project. For more than a year, Telecare officials have been negotiating contracts with Mercy to lease the building and the state of Oregon, Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Inc., or GOBHI, and Jefferson Behavioral Health to provide funding for the treatment beds.

JBH is the regional mental health organization that distributes state funds to six Southern Oregon counties, including Douglas County. GOBHI is the regional organization that distributes funds to most of Eastern Oregon.

Telecare received a letter of intent from the state recently, and has since decided to officially move forward with plans to open a sub-acute care facility in Roseburg. The letter said that the state intends to provide funding for 12 beds at Telecare’s Roseburg Recovery Center on the Mercy campus. The center is set to open in early September, said Telecare Director of Communications Shea McGuier.

The program is aimed at providing sub-acute care with a focus on recovery, McGuier said. Sub-acute care is considered an alternative to involuntary treatment at inpatient facilities or state hospitals. The 24-hour services are targeted at those people with serious mental illnesses who have histories of institutional stays and are unable to live and function in a less restrictive setting.

The 12 beds funded by the state will serve as extended-care management beds, open to those who would typically be eligible for state hospitalization, McGuier said. The program will provide care for people who are likely to go to, or have been discharged from, the state hospital or need treatment in place of going the hospital, she said.

The state-funded beds will be for long-term patients who need care for six months to more than two years, McGuier said.

Telecare is still discussing contract terms with JBH and GOBHI to acquire funding for the four additional beds. Those beds would be reserved for people from the local or regional area who are coming from an intensive-care facility, the community or Mercy’s emergency department, McGuier said.

Telecare and Mercy officials have also come to an agreement regarding the use of the BHU building, Mercy spokeswoman Kathleen Nickel said. The hospital and Telecare officials have a signed agreement, which allows the company to lease the building for a renewable term of five years to provide services, but a start date is not identified in the agreement, Nickel said. However, the company has started renovating the building to suit its needs for a fall opening, McGuier said.

• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.