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Closing of mental-health services vendor could leave patients without help

The Blade - 5/29/2021

May 28—A contract dispute between the Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Lucas County and its current vendor, Rescue Crisis, may leave county residents without critical services beginning June 30.

Rescue Crisis on Friday announced plans to close permanently that day because the dispute has made it impossible to retain staff and clients, hire new employees, or attract new clients.

"I would hate to see that happen," Richard Arnold, a longtime watchdog of government mental health services in Toledo, said. "They are a vital organization.... We need that agency that can evaluate people and find out whether they really need more intensive inpatient care or they can be treated better within the community."

John DeBruyne, president and chief executive officer of Rescue Mental Health & Addiction Services Inc., which provides community mental-health services in Lucas County, told The Blade he gave agency employees a 30-day termination notice when the agency's management and employees met Friday.

The mental health board last fall issued a request for proposals for a vendor to provide services. Rescue Crisis submitted a bid but wasn't selected.

Rescue Crisis filed a complaint in February contending the board's request-for-proposals process constituted an illegal competitive bidding process and violated good-faith bargaining requirements in accordance with both Ohio law and its existing contract.

In March a Franklin County judge issued an injunction preventing the board from awarding the contract until "the parties have attempted to resolve their dispute by good-faith negotiation and collaboration" under the state statute.

Lucas County commissioner Pete Gerken, however, said the onus is on Rescue because, he said, the mental-health board has offered the agency a six-month extension of the contract while the two parties litigate the issue in court and also 90 days worth of pay so that its clients are not harmed.

"This is an abandonment of the mission by Rescue Crisis in the face of contract negotiations with the Mental Health & Recovery Services Board," Mr. Gerken said.

"To just say I quit because I'm in the middle of contract negotiation harms the worker, and it harms the client," Mr. Gerken said. "... So this is a high-stakes move by Rescue that puts their clients and their employees at risk."

Mr. DeBruyne said he is turning those two offers down because at the same time the mental health board extended them, it was also trying to replace Rescue with other services, making it impossible for the agency to retain workers and clients, hire new workers, or attract new clients.

"And that's the problem," he said of the mental health board. "... The whole thing is we can't keep people because of what they've done."

Scott Sylak, the mental health board's executive director, refused to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

Rescue Crisis serves about 8,000 clients, and about 70 percent of the organization's funding is provided through the contract with the county, up to about $4.5 million, court records state.

"If this is a psychiatric emergency, they should call 911," Tina Skeldon Wozniak, the county commissioners' president, said when asked what those in a mental-health crisis should do come July 1.

"The concern is for people to be able to link with [a source where] they will be provided full resources — transportation, hospitals, crisis stabilization.... Any services that are currently provided must continue," she said.

Ms. Wozniak said the mental health board needs a plan to address that concern by June 30.

"The Board wishes to assure the community that crisis services will continue to be available without interruption," Jim Stengle, board chairman, said in a statement emailed to The Blade. "The Board is also committed to doing what it can to help transition Rescue's staff into open positions in the local behavioral health system."

The mental health board is funded through a 1-mill levy that was renewed in 2018 for 10 years.

First Published May 28, 2021, 1:20pm

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