TITLE
Title
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN GUILFORD COUNTY AND THE SANDHILLS CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RELATED TO THE GUILFORD COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Marty Lawing
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BACKGROUND
Background
Construction of the new Guilford County Behavioral Health Center will be completed in January 2021. The county has contracted with Cone Health to be the operator of the facility. The facility is projected to open for services in March 2021. Before the opening, the facility and the service provider must successfully complete licensing processes.
The recruitment process for the Behavioral Health Center Director is underway. Several candidates have been interviewed but we continue to receive applications for this important position. The position is important and very unique in that the Center Director will not have any supervisory authority or responsibilities over the Cone Health staff. The successful candidate will need a mix of mental health clinical knowledge as well as public relations skills and the ability to develop and maintain relationships with all mental health stakeholders in the county.
One option to get the Center open prior to finalizing the hire of the director is to contract with The Sandhills Center and benefit from their vast experience until the end of the current fiscal year or until such time as the position is filled. Sandhills Center’s Chief Executive Officer, Victoria Whitt and Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer Anthony Ward will assist the county by providing the following scope of professional services:
- Attend Guilford County meetings, work sessions, etc. as needed
- Attend and participate in construction meetings until the Behavioral Health Center is completed
- Participate in the Guilford County Behavioral Health Center Oversight Board meetings
- Advise Guilford County and the Provider/operator and/or consultants on implementation and operations of the new Center
- Share lessons learned from earlier behavioral health crisis work around facility licensure, service licensure and other regulatory design considerations
- Participate in planning discussions for transition of services from current provider to planned services provider
- Other meetings/consultation requested by Guilford County, including travel time for in person meetings
The compensation for theses services will be $5,000 per month beginning on December 1, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2021 unless terminated earlier. The compensation is based on the projected number of hours of work performed by Sandhills.
Dependent on the status of filling the director position, contracting with Sandhills for an expanded scope of services after June 30, 2021 may need to be a consideration.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
No impact to the FY 2020-2021 budget with this action. Funds budgeted for the salary and benefits of the Behavioral Health Center Director position will be used to cover the costs of this agreement.
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Approve a Memorandum of Agreement, in substantial form, between Guilford County and The Sandhills Center for professional services related to the opening of the new Guilford County Behavioral Health Center.
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