One week after state officials notified Western Highlands Network that its Medicaid waiver contract will end July 31, WHN board members report that the Asheville-based organization’s future will come in one of two ways: merge with another local management entity, or pilot an integrated health-care program.
The concept of peers helping peers is nothing new in health care, but in Buncombe County the interest in peer support specialists is growing. Known informally as PSS, these people help others navigate the mental health and substance abuse system. However, peer support specialists have a unique perspective: They’re in recovery from mental illness and/or substance abuse themselves. As of March 21, there were 838 peer support specialists in North Carolina, 65 of them in Buncombe County. (Map courtesy of the Peer Support Specialist Program at UNC-Chapel Hill)
Founded in 2005, the Asheville-Buncombe Drug Commission completed its first annual report. The report, which attempts to give a current look at substance abuse in Buncombe County and provide a plan to address it, was released yesterday, Oct. 15. A link to the report can be found in this post. (Image shown is a screenshot taken of the report itself)
