WORCESTER, MA — Layoffs tied to the winding down of Community Healthlink have climbed again, according to a new state filing.
Community Healthlink, the UMass Memorial Health-affiliated behavioral health provider, reported 231 layoffs in Worcester and Leominster to take effect Sept. 16, according to an updated Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing with the state.
The latest number is up from 127 layoffs reported in June for Worcester, Leominster and Webster.
Community Healthlink has been preparing for significant program transitions and eventual closure since at least April, when President Gordon Benson told staff that leadership was working with community-based organizations and state officials to maintain services as the organization winds down, Patch previously reported.
See Also: Community Healthlink Prepares For Eventual Closure
UMass Memorial Health said in a July 14 program update that Community Healthlink remains open and continues to serve clients across the region. Almost all programs remain open and fully operational, and clients can continue seeking services through normal channels, according to UMass Memorial Health.
The health system said it is working with several community-based organizations interested in operating Community Healthlink programs, including Behavioral Health Network, Clinical and Support Options, Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Open Sky, Eliot Community Human Services and Mentor South Bay.
As part of the transition, affected employees must receive 60 days' written notice before their Community Healthlink positions end and their programs transition to new operators, according to UMass Memorial Health. The health system said all Community Healthlink employees will eventually receive notice that their employment with the organization is ending as programs transition.
“Despite the issuing of these notices, most of these programs will continue to operate and many impacted employees will likely find employment with the new operators,” UMass Memorial Health said in the update.
Several programs have already closed or shifted. Department of Children and Families Services in Leominster, the Juvenile Court Clinic in Worcester, Together For Kids in Worcester, Beryl’s House in Worcester, Orchard Street in Leominster and the Worcester Community Housing Program are listed as closed, according to UMass Memorial Health.
Other services remain open, including Worcester adult and youth mobile crisis intervention, community crisis stabilization, adult outpatient services, PACT 1 and 2, the Stabilization Treatment and Recovery program and substance use continuum programs on Queen Street, according to UMass Memorial Health.
Clinical and Support Options is expected to begin operating several Leominster programs on Sept. 17, including adult and youth mobile crisis intervention, the children’s counseling clinic and the adult counseling clinic, according to UMass Memorial Health. PACT 3 in Fitchburg is also expected to move to Clinical and Support Options on Sept. 17.
Community Healthlink programs at 40 Spruce St. in Leominster are expected to move to 100 Erdman Way in mid-August, according to UMass Memorial Health.
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