Partnership for a Drug-Free NC will close four of its substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities.
WINSTON-SALEM -- Partnership for a Drug-Free NC will close four of its substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities. Officials at the nonprofit say that every day those clinics remain open, they lose money. By the time the centers close at the end of March, the agency will have lost hundreds of thousand of dollars.
Bert Wood, the CEO and president of Partnership for a Drug-Free NC, says the nonprofit will close the doors on four of its facilities in Mount Airy, Yadkinville, Statesville and Mooresville. He blames local health care management firm Crossroads for the closures.
"Simply put, the business model with Crossroads does not work,” Wood said. "Crossroads referred the people to us, but they're not recognizing the validity of those services and not accepting the bills."
Crossroads Behavorial Healthcare
But officials at Crossroads Behavioral Healthcare say Partnership for a Drug-Free NC isn't submitting payment documents properly.
"This is a statewide standard. All of the requirements we have are required of every provider in North Carolina through all 25 local management entities, so those things have to be met,” Crossroads CEO David Swann said.
Wood says running substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities is putting his nonprofit at significant financial risk, and he says it's a sign that things need to change.
"Mental health reform is not working. While the General Assembly has continued to look at ways to solve this, we've seen a 21 percent increase in hospitalizations in the past four years," Wood said. "The reality is this system of providing behavioral health care in those communities has not worked."
Swann says changes are happening but the transition is taking time.
"The money has to last all year long. We can't go back to the well and get more, so there has to be a public manager for that because you as a citizen, voter, taxpayer and everybody else out in the community depends on us to administer those funds appropriately.”
The four facilities will close their doors on March 28. Officials at Crossroads hope to rehire the staff under its direction and continue providing service to the more than 250,000 clients at those offices.