Beacon Health, Crossroads benefiting from merger

‘More efficient outcomes’ yielded through combined treatment, CEO says

About two years ago, the boards of two Lake County behavioral health agencies, Crossroads and Beacon Health, began discussions of a merger in efforts to serve families more efficiently.

Last November, both boards separately voted to do just that.

“A vision of combined services was broached in earnest early last year,” said the CEO of the merged agency, Mike Matoney. “Each organization had its strengths, with Crossroads’ focus on children, adolescents and young adults and Beacon Health’s on adults and seniors. The idea was to combine our strengths so that we’re serving family systems.

“We did some thin slicing and noticed that 18 of our parents or guardians or family members were getting services at Beacon Health and Crossroads concurrently. We also discovered that most parents will forgo their own services so their kids can be treated, in many different capacities. So, the idea was to be more realistic and more efficient with our families.”

Last January, the formal arrangement was developed. However, Matoney said the merger won’t be complete until July 1, 2019, though both entities are now tightly connected legally.

Since July 2018, Crossroads and Beacon Health have been on the same electronic health record, allowing the merged agency to serve clients together.

Since Jan. 1, 2018, the organization has had one board, one senior management team and one set of bylaws.

“We think we’ll get better outcomes if we’re treating a family unit together,” Matoney said. “And with some of the changes in Medicare and Medicaid funding, this is even more efficient. A main stressor in the adult population, which is much larger than the children’s population, are (the) kids. Families wanted to be treated concurrently and we took that to heart.”

Matoney, praising the Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, said the worst thing a person can do for a culture is start over.

“Nobody wanted that, and three years ago, the ADAMHS Board had a strategic planning meeting seeking a partnership,” he said. “They were very overt and we took it seriously. It’s a win-win because no services are being sacrificed. (Executive Director) Kim Fraser and her staff have been instrumental and very appreciative.”

The united agency, which has not decided on a new name, operates an office in Willoughby; an office on Munson Road in Mentor; a site on Mentor Avenue in Mentor; and Early Childhood Services in Painesville on Mentor Avenue.

The entity staffs 200 employees serving over 5,000 clients and families a year, including schoolbased services in every school district in Lake County.

“And need is increasing,” Matoney said.

“Public school enrollment may be decreasing, overall in Lake County, but the need for the school services is increasing,” he added. “When one out of five students in a classroom has a diagnosable mental health challenge, the need remains vital. Mental health services in schools have almost become commensurate with issues tantamount to kids coming to school hungry, and that’s a barrier. Unless we address these issues, the learning is going to be very disruptive and uneven.”

As far as outlook, Matoney said the agency will continue expanding partnerships in moving forward.

“We’re looking at putting our resources to the front lines. It also helps us recruit better across a lifespan. We can also offer to staff growth opportunities for people who want to work with multiple populations (adults and youth).

“We’re really very excited about improving our outcomes and being client-centered,” he said.