Lessons From Rural Vermont On Building A Crisis Response System—OPEN MINDS Executive Roundtable Featuring Northeast Kingdom Human Services, November 20, 2025
Gettysburg, PA (November 9, 2025)—OPEN MINDS invites leading health care executives to join Northeast Kingdom Human Services (NKHS) for the OPEN MINDS Executive Roundtable, Building A Crisis Response System In Rural Vermont: The Northeast Kingdom Human Services Case Study, to be held on November 20, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET. This one-hour webinar will showcase how NKHS built its crisis care continuum, including 24/7 mental health and co-occurring urgent care, a mobile crisis team, a 988 call center, and embedded mental health and co-occurring specialists within law enforcement agencies.
The session will feature Kelsey Stavseth, Executive Director, and Josh Burke, Director of Emergency Services at NKHS. They will showcase NKHS’s journey in creating a system that blends evidence-based practices, technology, private philanthropy, data, peer support, and hospital diversion to offer comprehensive crisis mental health and co-occurring services under one organization in one of the most rural parts of the United States.
“The demand for crisis services remains largely unmet,” said Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS. “That means there is both a need for services and an opportunity for the right provider organization to provide those services. The key will be for executives to look carefully at the reimbursement models and make sure they can build a service system with long-term financial sustainability.”
Executive attendees of this session will learn about:
- Business operations, including how pay incentives boost staff retention, how technology adoption improves quality and volume, and how partnerships between state and private philanthropy elevate the 988 program
- Staffing patterns, including how cross-training and support drive outcomes
- Peer support, including how peer support bolsters staffing, improves programming, and transforms crisis work
Register here: Building A Crisis Response System In Rural Vermont: The Northeast Kingdom Human Services Case Study
About Northeast Kingdom Human Services
NKHS is a State of Vermont Designated Agency (DA) serving all communities in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, comprising Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties. The $58.5 million organization operates with a staff of approximately 400 and serves approximately 3,000 individuals annually.
About OPEN MINDS
OPEN MINDS is a national market intelligence, management consulting, and marketing services firm specializing exclusively in the markets of the health and human service field that serve consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs. The OPEN MINDS mission is to provide payers, service provider organizations, and technology and scientific firms that serve these consumers with the market and management knowledge needed to improve their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Learn more at https://www.openminds.com.