Judy Truitt, OPC area director, said Tuesday that OPC had hired a transition manager to oversee the details as Caring Family Network ceased providing services and a new provider comes on board.

OPC is currently negotiating with two providers, Truitt said, and hopes to name a successor to CFN by late next week.

“We are most concerned about getting information out to people without creating a panic,” Truitt said.

OPC was hoping, Truitt said late Tuesday afternoon, to get letters out to consumers providing information regarding the situation and how the consumers should move forward during the transition from CFN to a new provider of outpatient counseling, psychiatric evaluations, medicines management, substance abuse counseling and community support.

“In the best of all worlds,” Truitt said, “there will be some overlapping” during the switch.

“We will do our very best to make the transition easy,” she said, “and will work with our providers to identify those consumers with the highest needs and prioritize” so that those with the greatest needs have continuation of services.

“We will try to assure consumer safety” Truitt said, by ensuring that access to needed medications is continued and that ongoing needs are met “in a thoughtful and planned way.”

So far, she said, “We have been extremely pleased with the response of the community. Caring Family Network, Truitt noted, has worked with OPC to make the transition a smooth one.

Staff at Person Counseling Center received reduction-in-force notices from CFN, effective at the end of this month. Staff have also, Truitt said, talked with the two possible replacement agencies regarding terms of employment should they take over the contract for services.

“This is a huge transition,” Truitt said, “and there will be bumps in the road, but in working together, hopefully we can come out on the other side by creating new opportunities for our consumers.” >>

Mental health reform in North Carolina began several years ago with the goals of improving access to cost-effective care, choice in treatment, and system accountability. OPC and Person Counseling made changes toward divestiture two years ago. CFN was named as provider of services here 18 months ago.

Under the state reform plan, area mental health programs, like OPC, became local management entities (LMEs), which separated management and clinical functions.

Many services once provided directly by area programs are now offered by providers like CFN, who contract with the LMEs. State funded treatment is now targeted to patients with severe mental illnesses and conditions.

During Monday night’s meeting of the Person Board of County Commissioners, County Manager Steve D. Carpenter advised commissioners that CFN, which leases space in the Person County Human Resources Complex from the county, could be “gone by the end of the week.”

He said he had been conversing with OPC’s Truitt about the transition and discussing options. Carpenter also broached the prospect for the county possibly subleasing the space in the Human Resources Complex to OPC in order to put the latter in a better position to contract with and offer space to providers.

Carpenter emphasized that he did not know if OPC even would be interested in doing that and that the concept is only in the talking stage at this point. Preliminary sentiment among commissioners, however, seemed favorable to the notion, if OPC was amenable.

But commissioners took no action Monday, indicating they could discuss it further in their annual retreat scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7.

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Courier-Times editor Neal Rattican contributed to this report.