June 27, 2024

Dear Community,

After careful consideration and extensive due diligence over the past several months, last night the WellPower Board voted not to move forward with the merger with Jefferson Center for Mental Health at this time. In particular, the challenges with addressing significant funding changes and the work required to merge under these circumstances have made the merger a riskier proposition.

The concept of the merger came from a shared commitment between both organizations to providing and expanding access to best-in-class behavioral health services for the communities we serve. Coming together as one organization was intended to allow us to serve more people with a broader range of programs, all while providing an even better staff experience and robust long-term financial outlook for the larger organization.

Over the past several months, however, the behavioral health funding landscape has undergone significant changes. The national Medicaid unwind has resulted in over 600,000 Coloradans losing their healthcare coverage, resulting in considerable declines in revenue for both organizations. Continued reductions in vital funding, including “claw backs” of funds that had already been distributed to providers, have necessitated a new kind of action to ensure continued financial strength. Because of the scale of these changes, we have determined that the current timing is not ideal for the kind of merger we still believe would be in the best interest of our communities and our organizations.

WellPower and Jefferson Center remain closely aligned as two well-established, highly regarded, mission-driven organizations committed to serving people and communities in our respective regions. We are both committed to diversity, equity, inclusiveness and belonging practices, using innovation to offer better care for more people, advocating for more resources for this work and cultivating strong partnerships throughout our communities. The progress we’ve made toward building a shared organization will allow us to move forward with closer collaborations and more seamless referrals to the unique services each organization offers.

We look forward to continuing to serve our communities through innovative, person-centered, best-in-class behavioral health services for many years to come. Thank you for your partnership in improving well-being for everyone in Denver.

In health,

 

 

Dr. Carl Clark
President & CEO, WellPower