EMCMHC Teams Up With Rimrock to Improve Addiction Treatment

The Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center (EMCMHC), based in Miles City, has announced they are partnering with Rimrock in Billings, to provide enhanced addiction and mental illness treatment in eastern Montana.

Currently, EMCMHC provides services in 17 eastern Montana communities, including Glasgow. According to Rimrock’s Chief Nursing Officer Christi Beals, the newly forged partnership will allow eastern Montana practitioners the opportunity to directly refer patients to a higher level of care more immediately, in turn giving them the ability to quickly access treatment options such as medical detox, inpatient services and a wide continuum of care following discharge.

“It’s about having that hand off into care and back,” said Beals, “to make sure that care is seamless.”

The groups anticipate the ability to work together will allow providers in smaller communities to more closely refer, follow and manage providing care before, during and after addiction services and inpatient services. In essence, this will make it easier for providers in eastern Montana to continue treating a patient after they receive services at Rimrock and maintain the continuity of care before, during and after the treatment. This enhancement should facilitate efforts to curb addiction and drug abuse in smaller communities.

EMCMHC’s CEO Brenda Kneeland stated in a press release that their, “[P]artnership with Rimrock is based on our mutual goal of providing residents in Eastern Montana with high quality behavioral health and addiction treatment services. We want people to have the opportunity to receive consistent and appropriate treatment as close to their home communities as possible.”

Rimrock CEO Lenette Kosovich stated in that same release, “Montana continues to be impacted by the negative effects of the drug epidemic. We at Rimrock are excited to partner with EMCMHC as a ‘like minded’ organization who recognizes that together we can leverage each other’s stregths to provide the best care for Montanans who need help.”