{"id":149,"date":"2026-05-19T21:36:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=149"},"modified":"2026-05-19T21:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:36:39","slug":"nc-legislators-look-to-charlotte-pilot-to-address-boarding-crisis-in-emergency-departments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=149","title":{"rendered":"NC legislators look to Charlotte pilot to address \u2018boarding\u2019 crisis in emergency departments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s a problem that legislators on the state House Health Committee have become all too familiar with: a child dealing with a mental health crisis is taken by their family or law enforcement to a local emergency department, only to stay in the ED for days or weeks on end with no real treatment plan.<\/p>\n

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While there is no physical ailment for which the adolescent can be admitted to the hospital, because of behavioral problems they cannot be safely released, either.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, leaders from the Carolina Complete Health Network in Charlotte presented lawmakers with results from a pilot program that has shown success in reducing the boarding time that children in crisis spend without treatment in emergency department settings.<\/p>\n

Katie McKay, the senior director of clinical operations for CCHN, said the first step of the Crisis Intervention Therapy and Education (CITE) model is to have a dedicated behavioral health clinician stationed in the emergency department, devoted to at-risk children. That clinician is the point of contact for family members and identifies appropriate treatment options.<\/p>\n

The clinician is also responsible for making a referral to a community-based provider. MORES, short for Mobile Outreach, Response, Engagement and Stabilization, is a mobile provider that can respond within an hour of a crisis.<\/p>\n

The MORES team provides up to eight weeks of follow-up care. The program is publicly funded by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, but is not yet available in every county.<\/p>\n

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One in four NC teens experience depression. Can peer-to-peer support improve their mental health?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n