Guilford County is renewing its agreement with Cone Health to operate the county’s Behavioral Health Center in Greensboro for another five years.
At the last regular June meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the board renewed and amended the Cone Health Behavioral Health Services Agreement, which allows Cone Health to operate the Behavioral Health Center at 931 Third St. just north of downtown Greensboro.
The previous contract was approved in October 2019 for a five-year term that began when the center started operations in June 2021. That agreement expired at the end of June 2026.
County staff recommended that the commissioners approve the renewal option in the contract that will now extend the agreement for another five years, from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031.
The cost to the county for the first year of the renewed agreement is $4,215,914. That amount includes an escalator clause for future years. The total cost of the services agreement plus the county’s payments to Cone Health for security inside the facility is $4,853,654 in fiscal year 2026-2027.
The money for the agreement is part of the county’s Behavioral Health “Maintenance of Effort” funding that’s meant to support a range of behavioral health services including urgent care, facility-based services, outpatient services and substance use recovery services for adults and youth.
The county leases the facility to Cone Health for a whopping $1 a year for a term that runs along with the services agreement.
The lease spells out the responsibilities of Guilford County and Cone Health for keeping the facility maintained and functional – including the security arrangements.
Under the arrangement, the county is responsible for external site security while Cone Health is responsible for providing mental health security for which the county in turn pays Cone Health.
County staff budgeted $637,750 for that security for fiscal year 2026-2027.
Guilford County and Cone Health have also identified some changes to the current services agreement that are intended to improve both operations and the client experience at the Behavioral Health Center as well as across the broader behavioral health system in Guilford County.
The county commissioners authorized staff to take the steps needed to execute the amendment and renewal of the Cone Health Behavioral Health Services Agreement for the additional five-year term and to acknowledge the renewal of the lease of the Behavioral Health Center to Cone Health.
