For many people, the decision to seek help for a mental health or substance use concern doesn’t come easily. It often arrives in a brief window of courage – one phone call, one step through a door. When that moment is met with long wait times or complicated processes, the opportunity for care can be lost.
Community Care Network’s Rutland Mental Health Services (CCN-RMHS), a nonprofit community-based agency, and part of the Vermont Care Partners (VCP) network, is working to change that reality. Through the adoption of an Open Access model and its selection as one of Vermont’s first Certified Community-Based Integrated Health Centers (CCBHCs), CCN-RMHS is transforming how people enter care and what they experience once they do.
Care When It’s Needed Most
In early 2023, CCN-RMHS transitioned its Outpatient Adult Mental Health Services to an Open Access model. Instead of waiting for an appointment, individuals can walk in or receive a same-day assessment when they are ready to seek help.
“It’s really hard for people to make that first call,” said Laura Kass, LICSW, Chief Client Services Officer. “And the longer they have to wait, the more likely it is they won’t come. Open Access helps us meet people in that moment.”
The impact has been immediate. Average wait times for assessments dropped from more than two weeks to just two days between mid-2023 and late 2024. Missed appointments have decreased, and more people are connecting to services quickly and meaningfully.
While the model required staff to adjust to a new way of working, many say the change has been worth it. “You don’t know who’s going to walk in the door,” said Hillary Ward, LICSW, Director of Adult Services. “That can be intimidating – but it’s also powerful. You’re responding to real need, right then and there.”
Building on this success, CCN-RMHS is in the midst of implementing an agency-wide Open Access system. A newly created Access Team will serve as a single entry-point for all programs, helping individuals complete paperwork, receive timely initial assessment, navigate services, and connect to care more efficiently. Once fully implemented, Open Access will expand to a full Monday-through-Friday schedule and include Adult Services, Substance Use Treatment & Recovery Services, Child & Family Services, and Early Childhood programs.
A New Model for Whole-Person Care
While Open Access focuses on how people get into care, the CCBHC model strengthens what happens after they arrive.
In 2022, Rutland Mental Health Services received a four-year, $4 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to pursue CCBHC certification. In 2024, the Vermont Department of Mental Health selected CCN-RMHS, along with Clara Martin Center, to become the state’s first CCBHCs, and full certification was granted on July 1, 2025.
CCBHCs are designed to improve access to high-quality mental health and substance use treatment through a nationally recognized model of care. They are required to provide a comprehensive set of services, including 24-7 crisis response, outpatient mental health and substance use treatment, person and family-centered treatment planning, community-based mental health care for veterans, peer and family support and counselor services, targeted care management, outpatient primary care screening and monitoring, psychiatric rehabilitation services, and screening, diagnosis and risk assessment – all while serving anyone who seeks help, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
“This is a big transformation,” said Cindy Taylor-Patch, Chief Quality Officer with CCN-RMHS. “It gives us the flexibility to better meet the needs of our community and focus on integrated, whole-person care.”
A central goal of the CCBHC initiative is addressing long-standing health disparities. People who have significant mental health challenges often experience higher rates of chronic illness and shorter life expectancy, largely due to barriers in accessing medical care and follow-up support.
“CCBHC allows us to look beyond symptoms and diagnoses,” Taylor-Patch explains. “We’re expanding health screenings, strengthening care coordination, and making sure people don’t fall through the cracks.”
The model also supports rapid access to medication for opioid use disorder, expanded peer support services, and closer collaboration with primary care providers and community partners.
Stronger Together
Open Access and CCBHC are deeply connected. CCBHC standards emphasize timely access to care, rapid engagement, and coordinated services – values already at the heart of Open Access.
“There is a real push to remove barriers wherever we can,” says Taylor-Patch. “Both of these efforts are about getting people into care quickly and supporting them in a meaningful, ongoing way.”
Together, the two initiatives are helping CCN-RMHS build a system that is more responsive, more equitable, and more centered on the people it serves. No one is turned away because of insurance, income, or where they live. Care is available when people are ready – not weeks later.
Looking Ahead
As a certified CCBHC and nearing full integration of its Open Access model across all services, CCN-RMHS remains focused on the community.
“This work is about dignity and respect,” says Kass. “When someone reaches out for help, they deserve to be seen, heard, and supported right away.”
By opening doors faster and strengthening the care behind them, CCN-RMHS is helping ensure that when people take that brave first step, they don’t have to take it alone.
About Community Care Network: CCN is comprised of Rutland Mental Health Services and Rutland Community Programs. The programs of CCN serve more than 3,500 people each year throughout Rutland County across the areas of mental health, developmental disabilities, substance use recovery, senior and volunteer, and early childhood education services. CCN is focused on enhancing the health and well-being of those it serves through responsive, innovative and collaborative services that offer support across the lifespan. To learn more, visit www.rmhsccn.org.
This article is part of a series, collaboratively produced by members of Vermont Care Partners, a statewide network of sixteen non-profit, community-based agencies providing mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability supports.
Learn more about Vermont Care Partners
