Granville Health System (GHS) today announced its intent to collaborate with East Carolina University’s Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health on integrated outpatient behavioral health care initiatives serving Granville County and the surrounding region.

Behavioral health needs continue to impact individuals and families across rural communities, and access to timely care and support services remains critically important. Through this potential collaboration, GHS aims to continue evolving healthcare services in thoughtful, intentional, and patient-centered ways that help strengthen coordination of care and support patients and families closer to home.

Integrated behavioral health care models like this have become increasingly important across North Carolina and throughout the country, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to mental and behavioral healthcare services can often be challenging. By incorporating behavioral health care into primary care settings, healthcare organizations are able to provide more coordinated, convenient, and timely care in familiar environments while helping support the overall health and well-being of patients and families. For communities like Granville County, collaborative care approaches like this can help strengthen coordination of care, support earlier intervention, and create additional opportunities to serve more patients and families through coordinated care close to home.

The initiative reflects GHS’s continued commitment to thoughtfully adopting best practices and evolving care models increasingly utilized across North Carolina and the broader region to help better serve patients and families.

Granville Health System already works alongside ECU’s Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health within the Emergency Department, where the collaboration has provided meaningful support for patients and care teams during important moments of need. Building upon the success of that existing relationship, GHS is now evaluating opportunities to extend this collaborative model into outpatient primary care environments across the health system.

The proposed collaboration would support behavioral health screenings, assessments, consultations, care coordination, and treatment planning through evidence-based telepsychiatry services.

ECU’s Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health would provide clinical expertise and virtual behavioral health care services, while GHS would coordinate care through its outpatient primary care practices.

“As healthcare delivery continues to evolve, particularly in rural communities like Granville County, organizations are continually looking for thoughtful and patient-centered ways to better support individuals and families,” said Adam McConnell. “Behavioral health is an important part of overall wellness, and collaborative care models like this have the potential to help connect patients with coordinated services in familiar healthcare settings close to home. We have seen the positive impact this approach can have through our work in the Emergency Department, and we are excited about the opportunity to continue building upon those efforts to see the benefits this type of model may provide for our patients and community.”

McConnell added, “Healthcare continues to evolve, and collaborative models like this represent an important opportunity for rural communities to continue advancing integrated, patient-centered care in thoughtful and coordinated ways.”

East Carolina University’s Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health recently provided Granville Health System with a Letter of Intent outlining the proposed collaboration. The potential initiative remains subject to continued planning, operational development, and final agreement terms.

Granville Health System remains committed to identifying innovative and patient-centered approaches that help support high-quality healthcare services throughout the region while continuing to fulfill its mission to promote well-being, accelerate healing, and inspire hope.

About Granville Health System

For over a century, Granville Health System has been at the forefront of quality healthcare. To meet the evolving needs of the communities it serves, Granville Health System has expanded healthcare services throughout Granville County, helping provide convenient access to care for residents across the region. The Granville Health System main campus is located at 1010 College Street in Oxford, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.ghshospital.org.