New Tool to Coordinate Oregon’s Behavioral Health Bed Capacity
OHSU News
1 May 2023
GE HealthCare is part of a collaborative effort to develop a hub for information about bed capacity among 11 facilities that provide inpatient mental health care. Called the Oregon Behavioral Health Coordination Center (OBCC), this enhanced infrastructure will improve care access for patients and support care providers.
The system is an evolution of Oregon’s Medical Coordination Center (OMCC), a regional capacity management system that Oregon Health & Science University, GE HealthCare Command Center and other partners launched three years ago at the height of the pandemic. The OMCC provided essential information about bed availability for COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state, and then during the public health emergency when RSV surged among pediatric patients. Now, the new OBCC will help manage care and capacity for behavioral health patients.
“We are working with unprecedented collaboration in order to better connect Oregon’s fragmented and under-resourced behavioral health services, improve access for Oregonians, and support providers at every level of care,” said Matthias Merkel, M.D., Ph.D., OHSU senior associate chief medical officer for capacity management and patient flow. “OBCC will ensure clinicians have a full picture of available resources as they work to help someone in mental health crisis. These coordination efforts are an important investment for the health of Oregonians.”
The system is an evolution of Oregon’s Medical Coordination Center (OMCC), a regional capacity management system that Oregon Health & Science University, GE HealthCare Command Center and other partners launched three years ago at the height of the pandemic. The OMCC provided essential information about bed availability for COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state, and then during the public health emergency when RSV surged among pediatric patients. Now, the new OBCC will help manage care and capacity for behavioral health patients.
“We are working with unprecedented collaboration in order to better connect Oregon’s fragmented and under-resourced behavioral health services, improve access for Oregonians, and support providers at every level of care,” said Matthias Merkel, M.D., Ph.D., OHSU senior associate chief medical officer for capacity management and patient flow. “OBCC will ensure clinicians have a full picture of available resources as they work to help someone in mental health crisis. These coordination efforts are an important investment for the health of Oregonians.”