Trillium releases annual report

ASHEBORO — Trillium Mid-State Regional Vice President Anthony Ward presented the annual report to the Board of Commissioners at their June 1 meeting.

One bottom line: Over one year, Randolph County’s mental health care agency saw nearly 4,000 people needing significant help. 

Ward also shared how much money was spent during the 2024-25 fiscal year and what Trillium expects this coming year.

Trillium is an LME/NCO, one of four agencies in North Carolina coordinating care for mental, behavioral and intellectual health issues and disabilities.

“Anytime I talk about Trillium Health Resources and who we are, I think it’s important for us to note that we manage services. We don’t provide those direct services,” Ward explained. “Individuals can still give us a call if they’re wanting a connection to behavioral health services. We contract with individuals who can provide those direct services to them.”

In the 2024-25 fiscal year, he said 3,933 individuals from Randolph County sought help for “significant needs.” Of those, 2,897 were mental health-related, 1,067 were related to substance abuse and 619 were for an intellectual disability or disorder.

New this year, on Dec. 1, Trillium launched a new Children and Families Specialty Plan, which will be managed by Health Blue Care Together. Ward said it will provide for physical and behavioral healthcare, in- and out-patient services, pharmacy, crisis and therapeutic options.

Ward said they invested $52,577,579 into local services. County Manager Zeb Holden asked where that money comes from. Ward said that includes Medicaid, state money and other dollars spent on Randolph County citizens.

The county is expected to contribute $844,000 to Trillium’s 2026-27 Maintenance of Effort, the same amount as the last fiscal year. It includes money for detention center clinicians, the Adult Day Reporting Center and Daymark.

NC ROOTS launches early development

Ward said the state invested $213 million for a new Rural Health Transformation Fund. Money is to be doled out over five years. He said how much they get for the second year will depend on their work in the first year. “It’s important that we hit the ground running,” he said.

Commission Chair Darrell Frye added that money is supposed to go to rural counties based on census track. “Randolph is considered a rural county. Guilford, Davidson and Forsyth are not,” he said. “The bulk of those dollars can go to those other rural counties, so it’s not a situation where those large urban counties are going to use up a most of the resources.”

The commissioners asked for an update on the new project NC ROOTS. It stands for “Rural Organizations Orchestrating Transformation for Sustainability” and kicked off in Randolph County on June 1. Its aim is to connect more local community organizations and stakeholders for collaboration and, they hope, reach more people who need it.

Trillium is now seeking letters of interest and establishing an advisory board for NC ROOTS.

Ward said he knows state legislators want them to look at workforce development through NC ROOTS. That could include working with local community colleges to boost the number of healthcare workers. It may establish more staff to expand telehealth.

In 2024, Randolph County’s original LME/NCO, Sandhills Center, was merged with Trillium and Eastpointe, forming a single LME/NCO for 46 counties. Ward alerted the commissioners that the state is planning for another merger.

Frye said, “On our way to two?”

Ward said, “We’ll see if the trend continues.”