As of late, the Carbon County Commissioners have been addressing what could be done with the former Southeast Utah Health Department building, now that the new location is open and ready for business.
During the first commission meeting in July, they discussed this topic once more. Commission Chair Larry Jensen explained that Four Corners Behavioral Health and Carbon Medical both approached the county with different interests. In the case of Four Corners, the state of Utah has allocated the organization some funding to establish a receiving center.
Four Corners Director Melissa Huntington explained that a receiving center is essentially an acute stabilization unit for individuals that are struggling, with the majority of them being the mental health and substance use disorder population.
The center would offer an acute attempt to stabilize, explained Huntington, and if they are unable, clients would be be moved into a higher level of care. She wished for the community to know that they are not going to see these relatively high-risk people “booted out” due to the state of Utah restrictions. A safe placement for the individual, depending on their situation, will be found.
Commissioner Jensen remarked to his fellow commissioners that he believed this was a good option for the area, and that some of the funding would be coming from the opioid settlement. Four Corners will also receive ongoing grant funding to assist with the facility.
A perk of the receiving center for the community is that it is an alternative to jail, freeing up the local law enforcement for other emergency situations. It also diverts non-medical mental health crisis situations away from the hospital, freeing up emergency response for those with physical health needs.
Huntington stated that the research conducted for behavioral health shows that if you have a safe location that people are able to go to for treatment and guidance, a crisis can be resolved within the 23-hour time period. She said that this a really unique opportunity for those with behavioral health issues, concerns or a crisis to be treated by people that are trained to address those needs and give them a safe space to do it.
This will be the first receiving center in rural Utah and, due to the county’s high opioid addiction numbers, it was considered the poster child for the lawsuit nationwide. Commissioner Jensen stated that the state feels some obligation to attempt to help the county.
Huntington explained that the setting of a receiving center aims to be comforting. It is a supervised facility, not a lockdown facility. If someone receiving treatment chooses to leave, they are able. It is a setting where there will be six areas for individuals and there will be two staff members at all times. Ideally, the staff is one medical provider, such as an LPN, and one case manager or peer support employee.
“We just love bringing much-needed resources to our community,” stated Huntington.
From meetings that have been hosted, Huntington said that she knows that both law enforcement and local hospitals are on board with the opening of the receiving center. She also stated that, though some remodeling will be needed, they will not be utilizing the entire building. They will use one section for the center and the other areas for different expansion projects. The grant funding will assist with offsetting costs for those that do not have insurance, but services are also covered through Medicaid.
During the commission meeting, Commissioner Jensen explained that Four Corners offered to purchase the building for $200,000. It was acknowledged that the offer was much less than the appraisal value. However, Four Corners provides care and needed services to the population.
“We are lucky to have them in place,” said Commissioner Jensen. With that, Commissioner Casey Hopes made the motion to sell the building for $200,000 to Four Corners, as is, which was approved.
Another great opportunity the center will be bringing to the community is new job opportunities. Huntington stated that they will be recruiting for the positions, as well as a director, and will not staff with existing staff.
She also stated that crisis work training could be conducted on the job. The hope is that the hiring process will begin in late fall in order to start training. Huntington explained that this is the type of service in which they wish to ensure that people are well-trained and a good fit.