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.
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I have a customer who works in that building on Third Street, just off Summit Avenue. Have you seen the building they have? Brand new, with massive security. You can’t even walk in the door. Must have cost a fortune.
And we are paying $4.9 Million this year for… behavioral health?
Isn’t that just the “Teens”and “Youths” who need to get a whipping from their fathers? That would set them straight, back in the day.
Now the precious little anti-social animals are coddled and indulged by social workers who flatter themselves that they can make a difference – at our expense.
What a load of crap.
Austin, if you haven’t seen the story pull up what happened in downtown Raleigh on Saturday night the Fourth of July. Talking about some young people needing a good ole ass whopping. And parents also. Bet you will never guess what majority race they were
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Oh, I believe you, Rebel.
As Yogi Berra once said, “You can see a lot just by looking”. And it’s striking that the “Youths” and “Teens” all have something in common. They don’t need to use sunscreen.
And it tells us a lot about the media that this irrefutable fact is never mentioned, as they dance around the issue.
“racial invariance hypothesis”
Look it up…..
Nothing racial about it professor, pull up the footage out of Raleigh or look up the race of the 33 arrested and please as I’m sure you will share with us what you find
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People like the Pontificating Professor are unable to accept reality.
I can tell you didn’t look up the phrase Rebel. Not shocked. Would be surprised if you learned something for sure.
Cheers.
Why doesn’t Cone pay for it themself? We pay them. Oh, mebbe Behavioral Health is not a “health” problem (medically necessary); thus no insurance, patient pays all the cost.
Why do we have to pay someone to “behave”? Punishment usually works.
Mental Health is what behavioral health covers.
Then my wife is covered.
BINGO to Austin and Miller. Believe you are spot on.
Another layer of the smelly onion, AKA the Guilford County Commissioners, has been peeled back! Can you believe the cost to Guilford County taxpayers for the first year of this renewed agreement is a whopping $4,215,914? That amount includes an escalator clause, which means we’re guaranteed higher costs for the next five years. So, what are the projections for the next five years? How much total are we looking at for the entire decade? Have these projections been established? Common sense questions, don’t you agree?
And let’s not forget the pressing question of how many patients have been “cured” in these first five years and how many more are expected to be helped in the next five. This leads us to the critical calculation of how much we’re actually spending per patient who gets treated. Again, common sense questions.
The final question I have about this ongoing situation, which seems to have no end in sight and could cost our grandchildren a lot, is how much profit Cone Health has made from this long-standing issue of providing health services to the people of Guilford County. It’s frustrating, to say the least. And why are we only now uncovering this lack of transparency from our County Commissioners? Enough is enough! It’s time we demand real change in Guilford County! The current Commissioners clearly show a troubling disregard for the needs of our senior citizens, farmers, and hard-working voters like you and me. Spend, tax, spend, and tax some more.
If you’re fed up with leaders who make decisions without truly listening to the voices of their constituents—the very people who put their trust in them—now is the time to stand up! Your concerns matter, and they need to be heard loud and clear!
Make your demands known today. If you’re ready to support dedicated individuals in positions of power within Guilford County Government during this upcoming election cycle, we need Commissioners who prioritize the needs of voters. Let’s work towards a Guilford County Commissioners Board that operates effectively and values bipartisan problem-solving. This Board should understand that their constituents do not want them to burden future generations with debt they had no say in—a clear example of taxation without representation!
Join me in this vital movement. Contact me, Marc Powell, at marcpowellgccseconddistrict@gmail.com. Together, we can create the change our community truly deserves!
What is wrong with the readers of this publication? I’m very conservative and still see the need for mental health help four our community. What about people dealing with abuse? What about homeless people? I would say Veterans too, even though there is the VA this would be good for us too.
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Need “mental health help”? Go see a shrink.
Dealing with abuse? Call the cops.
Homeless? Get a job.
Simple.
These remedies have worked forever. There’s nothing wrong with them – or us.
Perfect example of the modern conservative’s lack of sense of community and empathy. Thanks for sharing, Austin.
Cheers.
What exactly was wrong with Austin’s reply. Everything he stated was simple, common sense and doable, maybe that is to complicated for you but then
you are you
Austin’s comment isn’t “common sense”; it’s an oversimplification that ignores how people actually end up in these situations.
Someone with severe depression can’t always “just see a shrink.” A homeless person without an address, transportation, clean clothes, or identification can’t always “just get a job.” And telling an abuse victim to “call the cops” ignores that many fear retaliation or are financially dependent on their abuser.
Showing empathy doesn’t mean excusing bad choices or abandoning personal responsibility. It means recognizing that sometimes people need a hand up so they can become productive members of the community again.
The measure of a society isn’t how it treats people who are already succeeding—it’s how it treats those who are struggling. Communities that simply ignore the poor, the mentally ill, and abuse victims don’t become stronger; they become places with more homelessness, untreated illness, crime, and despair. We can afford to do better than that, and I think we should.
But you be you
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You’re welcome.
The ersatz empathy of the Left exists in order to bestow saintliness and righteousness on themselves and their insecure psyches.
Like you.
You feel better about yourself when you assert your moral superiority, don’t you?
Face it. All that empathy, from LBJ to Obama hasn’t achieved much, has it?
It’s crippled people, deprived them of their own sense of agency, and made them dependents in every way.
Goodness professor I thought Austin’s reply was perfect. Everything he said was available and doable if one wants to apply themself. Oh but wait, that eliminates the democratic form of socialist government you appear to be leaning towards. Yet again, you are you
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Thanks, Reb! You hit on it exactly. The purpose of welfare is to create millions of well paid government jobs (“pretend jobs” Margaret Thatcher called them), and to create an underclass that provides a permanent pretext for said jobs, agencies, and bureaucracies.
The indigent are the victims, not the beneficiaries.
You both have a cold over simplified view of the world from your own limited life experiences versus understanding that many other people have very different and often far more challenges hurdles for overcoming difficult times in their lives.
But you be you.
Austin, it’s always interesting how the modern conservatives cashing Social Security, Medicare, farm subsidies, disaster relief, VA benefits, and tax breaks insist that assistance for other people is just a government jobs program.
The poor aren’t victims because someone offered them food, housing, or healthcare. They’re victims when society decides compassion is a scam and suffering is a character-building exercise.
I will always believe that Libertarians are only against tax spending that doesn’t personally benefit them as they lack any sense of community and its economic importance to all of our lives.
But you be you.
i offered a fat guy a dollar to put on a shirt to improve my mental health . . . can i expense/deduct this ? i had to run away helping me keep fit.