Raleigh police to partner with mental health facility at center of multiple WRAL investigations

Raleigh’s police chief is optimistic a collaboration with Holly Hill Hospital will best serve the needs of citizens experiencing mental health crises, despite numerous concerns about the facility that have been the focus of multiple WRAL investigations over the course of months.

Earlier this week, Holly Hill Hospital announced the new effort in conjunction with the Raleigh Police Department. It would divert juveniles and adults from hospital emergency departments, instead allowing police officers to take patients in crisis straight to Holly Hill, an in-patient behavioral health hospital.

WRAL Investigates has spoken with more than 70 individuals, including former patients, former Holly Hill executives, staff members and parents who expressed concerns about Holly Hill’s adult and juvenile facilities. The concerns include falsifying records, a lack of treatment, over-medication, and violations found by state investigators.

In an exclusive interview with WRAL Investigates, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson explained the collaboration was born after Holly Hill’s CEO, Leigh Holston, approached her. Patterson said she had heard from hospital administrators about the strain mental health patients were causing on emergency departments, and this ability to directly transport to Holly Hill can help alleviate that congestion.

“It also helps get that critical care that the consumer needs,” Patterson said.

WRAL Investigates asked if the numerous concerns raised by interviewees in our stories gave her pause about the relationship with the facility.

“It does not,” she said. “The reason being, we have new leadership in place.”

That new leadership is Holston, who says she started the CEO role in March 2024.

Holston was present for WRAL Investigates’ interview with Patterson — invited, she said, by RPD. Holston initially agreed to do an interview, but after seeing the questions investigative reporter Sarah Krueger asked Patterson, said she would prefer to answer questions by email. Ultimately, she agreed to an interview but only allowed WRAL Investigates to record audio, and not video.

“In our past reporting, we have reached out to you all often,” WRAL investigative reporter Sarah Krueger told Holston. “And we oftentimes either don’t hear back or just get a statement back. Why have you not wanted to, and still do not want to, do a full on-camera interview?”

“In the work that we do, we have to be careful about the privacy rights of the patients and population that we serve,” Holston said.

Holston acknowledged there are challenges in the behavioral health field, but said she could not speak to past issues at Holly Hill that occurred prior to her tenure. WRAL Investigates then asked about the five teenagers who escaped from the facility shortly after she took over.

“We developed really strong plans to make sure that any issues that could lead to a similar event in the future, that we have an action plan to make sure that won’t happen again,” she said.

Patterson said she is confident that the new collaboration with Holly Hill will be a good one, working on years of collaboration on various issues. While the final details are still being ironed out, Patterson said ACORNS – RPD’s mental health unit – will be heavily involved.

Patterson also said – if Holly Hill cannot provide good care – she is open to re-evaluating the partnership.

“Certainly we will assess and see how things go,” Patterson said. “But I have no indication to believe that they won’t provide the best care that they can.”