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What is PBH? PBH, formerly known as Piedmont Behavioral Healthcare is a local/regional public agency that is responsible for managing both the financing and delivery of services to people who need treatment and community supports for disabilities in the areas of mental health, developmental disabilities and addictions. We are a long-standing community agency, having been established in 1974 to serve Cabarrus, Stanly and Union counties, expanded to Rowan county in 1997, and Davidson county in 2004. Our history includes a legacy of services that were developed over the years in conjunction with state and national funding initiatives. Our Board of Directors, appointed by County Commissioners from each county, is comprised of citizens in our community, who understand its many cultures and special needs.
At PBH (Piedmont Behavioral Healthcare), we have the unique chance to re-engineer the community system of care in ways that will better take advantage of current and emerging treatment & delivery models along with advances in medicine and technology. The Piedmont Cardinal Health Plan, a new Medicaid program, began operations on April 1, 2005. This program is the culmination of nearly two years of planning and preparation, and marks the beginning of a new way of providing and managing services for people with disabilities. Through the management authority provided under the Medicaid Waivers, the State’s Divisions of Medical Assistance and Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/ Substance Abuse, PBH will consolidate multiple funding streams (state, federal, Medicaid) and will be the single local payer and manager of services. |
As system manager, PBH will be responsible for access to care and quality of services for people in our five counties.We will be developing a network of providers on an on-going basis who share our mission and values, and will offer top quality services to our citizens. This is a demonstration project that has the potential to blaze the future trail for community mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services in North Carolina.
Our challenge is to re-engineer and re-tool an outmoded system that was evolved over decades, and includes uneven access to services, fragmentation in care and inefficiencies in operations. We have the technical expertise to implement these changes, but it is only realistic to point out that, obviously, major system changes of this magnitude are complex and involve a wide array of Stakeholders. Consequently, while the envisioned changes to the system appear revolutionary in nature, getting there is — ironically & necessarily — incremental, and evolutionary. We have enjoyed un-wavering support from State Agencies, Elected Officials, local governments, people who use the system, family members, advocacy organizations, providers and community stakeholders. Thank you, and please, continue to offer your advice, your support, and your patience as we move forward. |
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Managing a System of Care for Children and
Adults with Mental Health, Developmental
Disabilities and Substance Abuse Disorders |
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| The PBH model is becoming more and more identified with success in the context of statewide reform. There is widespread interest in our model including that of the North Carolina General Assembly. While we have many miles yet to walk, we have developed a solid infrastructure and we operate a highly functional system of care for consumers. |
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