Administration
Director
Sy Saeed, MD, MS, FACPsych
Professor and Chair Emeritus
Department of Psychiatric Medicine
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Director, ECU Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health (CTeBH)
Executive Director, North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP)
Administrator
Ryan Baker, MHA
ECU Center for Telepsychiatry & e-Behavioral Health, NC-STeP
252-744-0411
bakerry14@ecu.edu
Operations Manager
Toni-Lynn Spear
ECU Center for Telepsychiatry & e-Behavioral Health, NC-STeP
252-744-3440
wardale18@ecu.edu
Program Coordinator
Kim Carr
Project Implementation and Communications Liaison, NC-STeP
757-239-5651
kcarr@medaccesspartners.com
Program Oversight
The N.C. Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP) was developed in response to Session Law2013-360 directing the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health and Community Care to “oversee and monitor establishment and administration of a statewide telepsychiatry program” at the East Carolina University Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health (ECU-CTeBH). NC-STeP allows referring hospital sites to utilize real-time interactive audio and video technology, telepsychiatry, for psychiatrists to provide timely psychiatric assessment and rapid initiation of treatment for patients experiencing an acute mental health or substance abuse crisis. For complete details see the following legislation NC General Assembly ยง 143B-139.4B
www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_143B/GS_143B-139.4B.html
Members of the NC-STeP team gathered February 14, 2023 for an event to announce the
newest grant program for children in under-served communities to receive access to mental health services.