Behavioral Health
At Access East, we practice whole-person care, embracing the philosophy that the compartmentalized “silo” approach to care is inadequate. We believe a patient’s behavioral health and primary-care services must be integrated to be effective, because true health improvement addresses the complex interactions between mind and body.
Our Behavioral Health Staff
Our skilled people-centric team includes licensed clinical social workers, nurse care managers and community coordinators. Meet them here.
Local Mental Health Resources
Medicaid-covered behavioral health services in our 34-county service area are coordinated by two of the state’s six different LME/MCOs (Local Management Entities/Managed Care Organizations): Trillium Health Resources and Eastpointe. These MCOs do not generally provide direct care to Medicaid patients, but rather help establish relationships with providers for mental health, substance-use and intellectual/developmental disability (IDD) services.
Consult the Regional Behavioral Health Map to see which MCO covers your own county.
Tailored Care Management
NC Medicaid launched its Tailored Care Management (TCM) model for behavioral health services on Dec. 1, 2022. Patients enrolled in TCM have a single care manager to manage all their physical health and behavioral health needs, as well as unmet health-related-resource needs, in what’s increasingly known in the medical community as a “whole-person” approach to care.
TCM is scheduled to go fully “live” in North Carolina as the Tailored Plan, on Oct. 1, 2023. This interim period is to allow additional time for primary-care providers to contract with one or more LME/MCOs.
Access East has partnered with LME/ECO Trillium Health Services to supply TCM to eligible patients at ECU Physicians, and may eventually expand services to other medical organizations once the Tailored Plan becomes established.
Hotline for Behavioral Health Help
The national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7, connecting you to a network of more than 200 crisis centers providing free, confidential emotional support. Call or text 988, or for online chat: 988lifeline.org.