It's been seven months since Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services received state approval to build a 50-bed psychiatric-emergency department.
The project has not moved forward, even though Old Vineyard demonstrated to the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation its ability to pay for the $13.8 million facility. The beds are being transferred from a state hospital in Morganton.
There is a need for the beds.
A statewide study released Aug. 5 by the Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that every day, on average, someone in the Triad experiencing a mental-health problem will wait at least 48 hours for admission for medical care.
The report found that 3,339 people statewide were put on a waiting list for admission to a state hospital. Of those, at least 44 percent waited at least two days.
Old Vineyard currently has 57 psychiatric residential beds for people ages 12 to 17, and 54 beds for acute mental-health care.
Kevin Patton, the chief executive of Old Vineyard, said last week that he had no update from his comments on May 30 that Old Vineyard was "reviewing various plans to bring the 50 additional psychiatric beds online."
The lack of activity by Old Vineyard prompted health service regulation -- the agency responsible for issuing certificates of need (CON) for major health-care projects -- to request last week a progress review that the provider was supposed to have submitted in July. Old Vineyard has 30 days to respond.
"We're not going to withdraw a certificate just a few weeks beyond the deadline for the progress review," said Angie Matthes, a team leader of the CON section for the agency.
"Obviously, we can't tell you what their plans are until we receive the review. I can tell you that if they are not able to proceed with the project, we will begin a whole new certificate process for the 50 beds, and I'm not sure who would apply."
Having the center available for local and statewide psychiatric treatment has been encouraged by mental-health, health-care and law-enforcement officials.
In many instances, the person having a mental-illness episode has been taken into custody through an involuntary commitment.
In such cases, state law requires a law-enforcement officer to stay with the person until it's determined that a doctor or eligible psychologist is available to conduct an examination. In some instances, the patient is restrained to prevent harm to themselves or others.
Local advocates have expressed concerns about whether Old Vineyard will be able to efficiently handle the department given recent incidents involving patients at the facility. They cite that its for-profit parent company, Universal Health Services Inc., also has a spotty track record in how its facilities nationwide operate.
When Old Vineyard initially passed the CON process last September, the goal was opening the department in January. An appeal filed by Holly Hill Hospital of Raleigh delayed the process until it was dropped in December. When Old Vineyard did receive the certificate, Rob McCartney, its chief executive at the time, set an opening date of July 2011.
Since then, Old Vineyard has been considering a major structural change to its operations.
According to local mental-health officials, one option being considered is for Old Vineyard to drop its services for adolescent psychiatric residential treatment this fall. Those services include a program for adolescent sex offenders with aggressive behavioral tendencies.
If that happens, the nearest providers for those services would be in Greensboro and Statesville.
Patton said in May that Old Vineyard was evaluating "multiple options and obtain input from various important community sources, including building and construction consultants."
Michael Cottingham, a spokesman for CenterPoint Health Services, which oversees Old Vineyard, said that a decision on whether to eliminate the adolescent sex-offender program is expected by the end of summer.
"We understand an architect's plan is done" for the department, Cottingham said. "Waiting for a construction start date."
rcraver@wsjournal.com
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