Wednesday, NOVEMBER 5, 2025 |
Photo – MHCC – Bigfoot99 file photo
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County has launched a new mental health partnership with High Country Behavioral Health.
During Tuesday’s Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Memorial Hospital Director of Nursing and Inpatient Services Janessa Mann said the Rawlins medical facility is teaming up with Idaho-based High Country Behavioral Health to treat Carbon County’s high-risk mental health population.
Mann said Memorial Hospital and the county began talks with High Country Behavioral Health earlier this year to improve mental health access and ensure patients continue receiving care after they are discharged from the Wyoming Behavioral Institute in Casper.
Mann said as of Tuesday morning, High Country Behavioral Health was available to provide round-the-clock mental health assessments for Memorial Hospital patients.
Under the new partnership, when patients experiencing a mental health crisis come to the Rawlins emergency department, staff contact a provider from High Country Behavioral Health to conduct a remote evaluation.
Mann said Memorial Hospital currently contracts with QLER (pronounced “Clear”) Telepsychiatry, an on-demand psychiatric care provider, for emergency mental health evaluations. However, patients typically waited 12 hours to be seen by a QLER psychiatrist. Mann said High Country Behavioral Health has promised to reduce wait times to two hours or less.
Mann said that unlike High Country Behavioral Health, QLER Telepsychiatry provides board-certified psychiatrists who can prescribe psychiatric medication. However, if hospital staff determine that prescribing authority isn’t needed in Rawlins, they can end the contract with QLER.
When the High Country Behavioral Health provider determines that a patient requires involuntary hospitalization under Title 25, hospital staff will work to transfer the individual to Wyoming Behavioral Institute or a similar facility. If no beds are available, the patient will remain at Memorial Hospital and receive daily mental health checks from High Country.
Director of Nursing Mann said the mental health provider will be involved throughout the Title 25 process, from admission to discharge.
Additionally, Mann said when a patient is released from the Wyoming Behavioral Institute, High Country Behavioral Health will ensure the individual is successfully reintegrated into the community.
According to the United Health Foundation, Wyoming ranks third in the nation for suicide rates, with 26.7 deaths per 100,000 residents, only behind Alaska and Montana. Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Chief Executive Officer Kerry Ashment said the High Country Behavioral Health partnership is just one facet in the hospital’s broader strategy to provide stronger mental health treatment along the Interstate 80 corridor.
