Johnston County Mental Health to Merge with Alliance Behavioral Healthcare

DURHAM, N.C. - April 2, 2018 - PRLog -- Johnston County Mental Health, the Local Management Entity for public mental health, substance use, and intellectual/developmental disability care for the citizens of Johnston County, will merge with Alliance Behavioral Healthcare effective July 1.

Alliance is a public behavioral health managed care organization, or MCO, responsible for the authorization of services for over 439,000 Medicaid-eligible and uninsured individuals and a population of 1.8 million in Durham, Wake, Cumberland and Johnston counties.

Alliance has been managing Medicaid services in Johnston, as well as those funded by the State since 2013. Service providers working in Johnston have been part of the Alliance provider network for years as well. Aside from a new name and logo, Alliance officials anticipate that Johnston residents will see minimal change as result of the merger.

"Operationally speaking, the staff at Johnston County Mental Health has been a part of Alliance for years now," said Alliance CEO Rob Robinson. "Our individuals and families, providers and community partners have already become integrated with the Alliance organization, and we anticipate that this will be a seamless transition."

The merger received approval from the Johnston Board of County Commissioners and the Alliance Board of Directors in March, and is subject to official sign-off from the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

The basic staff structure currently in place in the Johnston office will remain the same. These positions are those that most routinely come in contact with individuals and families, providers and community partners, such as individual and family affairs, community relations and care coordination. The local Alliance office will remain at 521 North Brightleaf Boulevard in Smithfield. Local members of the Johnston Consumer and Family Advisory Committee will continue to function as full participants in the Alliance CFAC Steering Committee.

"We are delighted that the working relationships we have formed with our Johnston LME partners will be officially incorporated under the Alliance banner," said Cynthia Binanay, Alliance Board Chair. "This makes both organizations stronger going forward and the Alliance commitment remains, as always, to provide clinically-sound, cost-efficient services and supports that make a positive difference in the lives of the citizens we serve."

https://www.alliancebhc.org/