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News
By Quinn Illi
CRYSTAL FALLS – The Iron County Board of Commissioners met with Jennifer Cescolini, the CEO of Northpointe Behavioral Health, and Erin Kusz, the chief clinical officer, at its April 9 meeting to discuss a number of issues including crisis management, drop-in centers, staffing and more.
Northpointe has recently been attempting to set up a drop-in center in Iron County. The agency requested approval from Northcare Network, an organization that oversees mental health services across the Upper Peninsula, but were denied in both 2023 and 2024.
However, Northpointe was able to find a work-around in that, while new drop-in centers are not being approved, existing ones are still receiving support. With that in mind, Northpointe plans to essentially piggyback off of the existing program in Kingsford by creating a satellite location that does not require express approval from Northcare.
The County, specifically the Sheriff’s Office, has also had issues with crisis management occupying officers for up to three days having to supervise individuals in crisis until they are screened and either sent home or placed in psychiatric care.
Sheriff Ryan Boehmke stated that a major problem for the Sheriff’s Office is that the screening process is only done by Northpointe for those with Medicaid and that the rest are taken to the hospital for said process.
“That’s where the huge problem is coming into play with law enforcement,” Boehmke said “I’m getting calls at two, three, four o’clock in the morning saying ‘This doctor is not going to do the screening because they’re a travel doctor and it doesn’t fall under their contract, Northpointe refuses to assist because their not Medicaid, we need you to transfer this individual to Marquette County…’”
“I’m not doing it,” Boehmke said. “I’m going on to say that right now, I’m not doing it, and it’s not going to change from this point on. That funding mechanism needs to get back to screening all individuals.”
According to Civil Counsel Steve Tinti, the county must provide services for all people who need them.
“You have a duty to provide services for all people in need of services,” Tinti said. “We assigned the county’s responsibility as the last element of the social safety net to your organization. When we have a crisis, we need assistance. …To get a response, when we have a crisis, that says ‘Well, we don’t have this funding, we can’t help you,’ is one: legally incorrect, and two: abhorrent to the position that you have taken, and we have to solve that problem. …We have to have a solution there. …Tying up two of our law enforcement officers for days on end, is not an effective plan.”
Kusz responded with, “Some of this, again, is outside the purview of what Northpointe can do. That’s written into the mental health code that the deputies… …have to be present. …We also don’t have control over bed availability throughout the state.”
“And those are two very good points,” said Tinti, “but the problem is, when we formed Northpointe, the three counties, we took our responsibility, our funding, and the legal obligation to do so, and gave it to this organization. This organization has to do it, if you came to Iron County and the law said we have to do something and we say ‘We don’t have any Medicaid…Iron County’s answer is ‘We have to come up with the money to deal with it.’ …What I’m trying to say is, since these responsibilities and powers have been transferred, we have to come up with a solution on how to better deal with crisis situations.”
Northpoint CEO Cescolini said the crisis went beyond the agency she oversees.
“The whole U.P. and the whole state needs to look at how to better handle crises,” Cescolini said. “I don’t know where the communication would come from to say that we don’t have the funding for it, but… …you’re right, that’s not the answer. And I think working together to address these and looking at how we can do a better job and increase access to services is the key take-away…”
For their part, Northpointe noted a number of ways in which they were improving such as starting a residency program to “grow” more qualified workers; utilizing ‘tele-help’ services to allow social workers and doctors to communicate with individuals via video calls, although at the potential cost of a personal connection; reimbursing law enforcement agencies, an albeit very small, portion of their expenses relating to crisis management; and taking back the responsibility of setting up services for individuals in need, which was previously done by Northcare.
Northpointe then resolved to work with the County and set up meetings to see precisely what could be done to improve the situation.
“We want to be an organization that the community is proud to have,” Cescolini said. “What’s been going on is really disheartening and upsetting to all of us because we try so hard. …We appreciate the opportunity to be able to hear the expectations and be able to communicate it and try to achieve those and try and do better for our community.”
The Iron County Board of Commissioners also addressed the following matters at its April meeting:
• Filing has begun for the August Primary Election and the deadline to be on the ballot is April 23 for party affiliates.
• Nancy Pasternak resigned from the Northpointe board and was replaced by Commissioner Ean Bruette to fill the partial term.
• The following millage renewal requests were approved by the Board:
• Road Commission, .5 mill
• Meals on Wheels, .15 mill
• Senior Center Millage, .27 mill
• Medical Care Access Coalition, .01 mill
• The Road Commission requested that the board make the Drain Commission an elected position once again to alleviate the Road Commission’s workload but was denied.
The Iron County Board of Commissioners meets the second Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. in the Iron County Courthouse. The next meeting will be held on May 14. More information is available at ironmi.org.