Wake County, UNC Explore Mental Health Care Partnership

Wake County residents who need mental health care could become UNC Health Care patients later this year.

Gurnal Scott: Wake County's Board of Commissioners heard a presentation yesterday by UNC Hospitals on a plan to take over the county's mental health program. Consultants have been researching the benefits of a possible partnership since last October. They looked at ideas such as cost effectiveness and how to eliminate any duplication of services. The impending loss of Wake County beds at the soon-to-be-closed Dorothea Dix Hospital was another factor that made a partnership seem more attractive. Commissioners won't make a formal agreement on the plan before August. They will spend the next couple of months working with UNC to decide which mental health services could be part of the transition.