About two months ago to the day, Metrocare Services, Dallas County’s largest mental health services provider, confirmed that it had so little money in 2017 that it ran out of prescription stock and had to refer its patients to other providers. D CEO’s Shawn Shinneman, the editor of our healthcare vertical, had a follow-up yesterday that spells more trouble for the beleaguered government agency.
Metrocare is laying off more than 40 people, although a source told him that it could be as many as 60. That’s about 7 percent of Metrocare’s 900 employees. John Burruss, the CEO, sent a memo to employees announcing the layoffs and additional salary freezes. The organization will also close the Midway Center in Addison after the end of this month. Metrocare serves about 57,000 Dallas County residents. Here’s Shawn:
The ongoing financial problems at Metrocare, a government agency that is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, were detailed in this space in February. The agency took a hit when it sold its software division at a loss. It has divested properties and closed the Pathways Clinic and the Adapt Clinic. Cash reserves have been depleted, and things got bad enough that at one point last year, Metrocare ran out of prescription stock and had to send patients elsewhere after it found itself without money to pay pharmaceutical vendors.
Burruss at the time of that story acknowledged a “really difficult” 2017, but said that, overall, efforts to revitalize the company since he was named CEO five years ago have been “enormously successful.”
The full report, including Burruss’ letter to staffers, can be found right here.
