NC regulators tracking centerís problems

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

RALEIGH (AP) ó State regulators may help bring other treatment providers to northeastern North Carolina after financial problems surfaced with the regionís public mental health agency.
State mental health division co-director Leza Wainwright told lawmakers Wednesday her office is working to help patients at the Albemarle Mental Health Center.
The center said this month it would stop offering mental health and other direct services to about 3,000 clients in 10 counties.
The center said it was out of money. Wainwright says her division is puzzled because the center has yet to tap into $8 million from the state. She says some private providers working with Albemarle patients havenít been paid since September.
An emergency meeting about the center was scheduled Wednesday night in Edenton.