IOWA CITY— The Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved a pair of contracts for management and clinical services at the GuideLink Center Thursday, July 15, during a regular business meeting. The contracts with AbbeHealth relate to providing mental health services and staffing the facility’s sobering unit. The contracts were discussed during a Wednesday, July 14 work session.
Jan Shaw, Director of Johnson County Mental Health Services, and a coordinator with the Mental Health/Disability Services of the East Central Region (ECR) told the supervisors the contract is essentially the same as the contract they signed for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 (ended on June 30), and that there were no substantial changes in the new contract, which is effective from July 1 to June 30, 2022.
Shaw explained the ECR provides funding annually for the GuideLink Center, with the money going to Johnson County. The agreement includes AbbeHealth as the managing entity at an annual cost of $400,000. ECR had already approved the contract in late June, and AbbeHealth signed it on July 6, leaving only the supervisors’ approval to finalize and enact it.
Shaw noted the $400k is between ECR and AbbeHealth. In a written executive summary to the Supervisors, Shaw stated AbbeHealth is formally contracted to manage the facility with the County providing payment to them for operational costs, which will be reimbursed by the ECR.
The facility, which opened earlier this year, is an “Access Center” providing immediate assistance in an outpatient facility for people in a mental health or substance abuse crisis, who do not require inpatient psychiatric hospital treatment. GuideLink clients do however need support and services that are not available in other group home or community-based settings.
The contract stipulates ECR funds are limited to only the operational costs of the GuideLink Center’s mental health services.
The contract also specifies the County shall submit monthly invoices to ECR for payment covering the approved operational costs for mental health services. All other services, it states, are to be billed by the provider to Medicaid, a third-party payor, or the appropriate region as established in a fee-for-service contract.
A prime example of other services provided by the GuideLink Center is the sobering unit. Penn Center, Inc., a division of Unity Point Health’s AbbeHealth Services, requested the Supervisors approve a plan for staffing the unit. Originally Prelude was the designated provider overseeing a ten-bed unit staffed by a paramedic and a support staff person. However, Prelude has not, according to AbbeHealth, been able to manage the service. Penn Center has agreed to manage the unit in the interim.
In addition, the Johnson County Ambulance Service (JCAS) provides a paramedic for the sobering unit, but due to a staffing shortage, has not been able to fulfill coverage. Penn Center has provided a registered nurse to provide medical coverage and oversight during times when a JCAS paramedic has not been available through a collaborative staffing pattern between Penn Center and JCAS.
AbbeHealth proposed a 30- to 60-day interim with a review of the management plan in 60 days, as well as to provide an RN when a paramedic is not available at a cost of $53.00 per hour including salary, benefits, and taxes.
The contracts were approved on 5-0 roll call votes.