ASHEVILLE, NC – Vaya Health is excited to announce that the Synergy Recovery facility-based crisis (FBC) center at the Shirley B. Randleman Center in North Wilkesboro is now officially designated for the custody and treatment of individuals under petitions for Involuntary Commitment (IVC). Synergy’s FBC has certified commitment examiners on staff and began conducting IVC evaluations on Aug. 1. This designation demonstrates Vaya’s longstanding commitment to improve access to behavioral health care in northwestern North Carolina.
Recognizing the critical need for enhanced crisis care, Vaya worked closely with Wilkes County leaders and Synergy to secure the IVC designation, offering a more efficient alternative for law enforcement and healthcare providers to transfer individuals in crisis.
“For over a decade, Wilkes and surrounding counties have needed a facility that will accept involuntary commitments,” said Shirley B. Randleman, Wilkes County Commissioner, former state senator, and namesake of the crisis center. “We are proud to announce that Synergy Recovery is now designated to accept involuntary commitments for residents in need of high-level behavioral healthcare.”
Vaya played a pivotal role in updating Synergy’s FBC center, supporting the facility through every stage of expansion.
“Vaya Health is dedicated to ensuring that individuals in crisis have access to compassionate, high-quality care when they need it most,” said Tracy Hayes, Area Director and CEO. “Our partnership with Wilkes County and Synergy Recovery’s facility-based crisis center is part of our larger mission to strengthen behavioral health services throughout the region, and the IVC designation is an important step toward meeting that goal.”
Initiated in 2019 with $1.4 million in state funding, the project aimed to modernize Synergy’s North Wilkesboro crisis center into a 16-bed facility capable of providing advanced mental health and substance use treatment. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, construction was completed in early 2021 and the facility reopened in March 2021.
