New Jersey-based Hackensack Meridian Health and Carrier Clinic both signed a letter of intent to explore ways to join forces on behavior health. 

The letter of intent starts the process that would create a system featuring 24-hour access to care ranging from outpatient, to urgent care, residential and inpatient care for mental health and addiction for adolescents and adults. A spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian said the due diligence is estimated to take three to four months.

Hackensack Meridian co-CEO Robert Garrett said the arrangement would create a new model of evidence-based care that integrates behavioral health with the system’s network. 

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The collaborators envision a multi-disciplinary team of experts, including primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and advanced practice nurses, who would closely coordinate patient needs, including addiction treatment, routine care and addressing mental health issues.

“This plan will create comprehensive care at a time of great need for expanded, enhanced, and innovative behavioral health services,’’ Carrier CEO Donald. Parker said in a statement.

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Hackensack Meridian and Carrier Clinic executives aim to better respond to a population in urgent need of care. In 2016, half of the increase in emergency room visits in New Jersey were related to patients’ behavioral health issues. The state is coping with an opioid epidemic that killed 2,200 people in 2016 – a record high, up 40 percent from the previous year, according to officials, who figure working together Hackensack Meridian Health and Carrier Clinic could provide greater healthcare access and choice.

“The opioid crisis is unprecedented in its scope and intensity and this partnership would enhance our efforts to be part of the solution,’’ added John Lloyd, Co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “It would also deliver a team-based care approach to behavioral health patients who too often receive fragmented care which doesn’t yield the best outcomes.”

Hackensack Meridian Health has 16 hospitals and more than 450 patient care locations and physician offices. The network reaches two-thirds of the state population. Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead, N.J. provides short-term, acute care hospitalization for people with psychiatric illnesses and substance abuse for adolescents 12-18, and treatment for adults 18 and older. It operates a 281-bed hospital.

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