News

January 17, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Carol Carrithers, Vice President
Marketing and Communications
(502) 589-8615, ex. 1209
(Home-245-5782)
www.sevencounties.org

Seven Counties Services to reduce workforce

Howard F. Bracco, Ph.D., president and CEO of Seven Counties Services, Inc., the region's community mental health center, announced a workforce reduction today of 89 staff positions and the closing of several program sites. The elimination of 66 of the positions will result in employee terminations across corporate and program administration and clinical services. The other 23 positions eliminated are due to attrition and staff transfers to other positions within the organization.

Bracco blames the reduction and closings on Kentucky’s chronic under-funding of mental health, substance abuse and developmental services, and more specifically on no Medicaid rate increase this fiscal year; a reduction in the state's reimbursement rate for case management services; no cost-of-living increases in the state’s contract with Seven Counties for almost a decade; and losses attributable to the Medicaid transportation system problems since July 1.

Seven Counties Services is the state’s largest community mental health/substance abuse/developmental services center, with an FY ’03 budget of $74.4 million, and more than 1,400 employees who serve more than 25,000 residents each year. The center provides services in Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Bullitt, Henry, Spencer and Trimble counties. Approximately a third of Seven Counties’ revenue is from its state contract, with another 46% expected to come from Medicaid/Medicare this year.

A significant change in how the organization manages its practice will be that Seven Counties now will accept adults with severe mental illness without a payer source as new clients only if they are being discharged from a hospital. In the past, Seven Counties has accepted adults with severe mental illness without payer sources through referrals from throughout the medical and social service provider community. This change does not affect adults with severe mental illness already who are clients of Seven Counties or have a payer source, or adult clients with diagnosis such as substance abuse. A growing focus for Seven Counties will be its children’s programs.

As part of the workforce reduction, Seven Counties is closing several of its locations and relocating both clients and program activities to other Seven Counties sites, and will be changing its service delivery model at several sites:

• The Further Horizons clubhouse, a voluntary therapeutic rehabilitation clubhouse for persons with a severe mental illness (145 Thierman Ln. in St. Matthews), is closing. Staff are working with the 39 Further Horizon clubhouse members to help them attend programs at other Seven Counties’ clubhouses or community programs. Clubhouse participation is a voluntary support service offered to persons with a severe mental illness in treatment with Seven Counties. Members will continue to receive their clinical treatment services through Seven Counties.
• Seven Counties no longer will offer a stand-alone geriatrics program and a dual diagnosis program for persons with both mental illness and a developmental disability. The site at 929 S. Third St. that housed both programs will close. Many, but probably not all, persons in these programs will be seen at other Seven Counties’ outpatient sites throughout the community, and Seven Counties no longer will provide off-site geriatric services to nursing homes and personal care homes.
• the Vocational Alternatives program at 501 S. Second St. will be relocated to the Seven Counties’ site at 758 S. First St.
• Seven Counties will change the focus of its participation in the Neighborhood Places to a prevention model versus a clinical service model, which will require re-staffing those sites with prevention specialists rather than clinicians. The prevention specialists will offer parenting programs educational and prevention programs for high-risk youth and pregnant women rather than services such as evaluation, individual and group therapy, and case management. Staff will refer individuals needing clinical services to appropriate service locations. Seven Counties’ staff is located in seven Neighborhood Places.
• the Jefferson County Internship Consortium program for pre-doctoral internship training in clinical psychology will be suspended for one year. This is a partnership between Seven Counties and Central State Hospital, but state funding to continue this consortium in the next year is uncertain.

For the first half of its fiscal year (ending June 30, ’03), Seven Counties has a $1.3 million deficit. Coupled with some additional internal consolidations, the operations changes described will reduce expenses by approximately $3.9 million, of which $1.1 million will be realized in this fiscal year’s fourth quarter.

All employees affected by the reduction plan and for whom performance expectations are not an issue will be eligible for a workforce reduction package that includes one month’s pay and some outplacement assistance. There also may be opportunities within the next 60 days for some re-hiring without interruption in benefits as positions are vacated through normal attrition.