Representatives from Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Grand County’s new regional mental health administrator, and Rocky Mountain Health Foundation will be speaking to county residents and health providers in Granby ahead of their move to the area.
A stop on the listening tour stop will be at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Granby Town Hall to help guide the transition and form a plan for the coming year. There will also be information for local organizations and providers to learn about grants available from Rocky Mountain Health Foundation.
In June, the state Office of Behavioral Health announced it would not be contracting with Mind Springs Health to provide mobile crisis services to the northwest area of the state, known as Region 1, and Rocky Mountain Health Plans would be taking over.
Following the announcement, Mind Springs partnered with Rocky Mountain Health Plans to help create a community-informed transition plan ensuring the health and safety of Grand County residents. Community partners also met to compile information on the system’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as a list of questions, to give Rocky Mountain Health Plans for the transition.
Mind Springs will continue offering mobile crisis services through Aug. 31 and then will have emergency services available for clients only. Outpatient services through the Granby clinic and West Springs hospital will not be affected. Mind Springs provided mobile crisis services to the county for the last five years.
On Monday, representatives from Rocky Mountain Health Plans also met with the county’s Mental Health Task Force to discuss the transition, the existing system’s strengths and weaknesses and next steps.
Jen Fanning, executive director of the Grand County Rural Health Network, said community partners at the meeting overwhelmingly voiced support for continuing to utilize Mind Springs for Grand County’s crisis services.
“We want to keep the crisis system intact and we want to support changes and improvements in the crisis system,” Fanning said. “Right now, nothing is off the table, but it was very clear that our community supports and likes the work Mind Springs does.”
Requests for comment from Rocky Mountain Health Plans have not been returned. Fanning said conversations about the transition are ongoing and Rocky Mountain Health Plans will return to Grand County in August with a detailed plan for local crisis services.