Services will continue for PHG consumers, transition to last through June

After decades of service, Panhandle Health Group, formerly Panhandle Mental Health Center, will be closing its doors across the Panhandle, following a public meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15 in Gering.

“The consumers should have been prepared better. I know mental health is a huge issue,” Kimball County Commissioner Daria Anderson-Faden said. “It was a hard decision. If there was any other way to do this, we would have, but there really wasn’t.”

Doors will not be closed immediately and the transition is expected to take until June, according to Anderson-Faden, who sits on the PHG governing board. Consumers will be assisted finding services through other area entities.

Opened in 1966, PHG was the sole provider for mental health and wellness services, but as time marched on, the area saw more providers covering a range of services.

While PHG continued providing, despite the duplication of services, the business took a hit approximately 18 months ago, when the State of Nebraska mandated that PHG finances be separated from those of Region 1 Behavioral Health, according to Anderson-Faden.

“That was devestating,” Anderson-Faden said. “A lot of it was due to Medicare and Medicaid, the reimbursements were just not there.”

In that last 18 months PHG lost more than $429,000 and their payroll was $1.9 million annually.

As part of the transition, some providers and support staff may receive transition offers as well.

Recently PHG offered extended services in Kimball, including art journaling and peer support services. Anderson-Faden has been a fierce advocate for locally provided services and plans to continue advocating for services in Kimball.

“I have pushed hard for a long time to get local services in Kimball,” she said. “I have reached out to the transition team urging them not to forget about us.”

Until the transition is complete, anyone looking for mental health and substance use services can call Region 1 Behavioral Health at 1-833-889-4037 or visit the website at https://region1bhs.net/service-access-portal/.

According to Region 1 Behavioral Health Administrator, Barb Vogel, when accessing the website service portal, there is a form that can be completed which will be emailed to Region 1 Behavioral Health Authority staff. The staff will contact the interested party and talk through provider and service options.

The Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255, the Nebraska Family Helpline is 1-888-866-8660. These links may also prove helpful: Suicide Prevention - https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or Nebraska Family - http://dhhs.ne.gov/behavioral_health/Pages/nebraskafamilyhelpline_index.aspx