Mental health merger aims to bridge gaps

On Jan. 1, Clarity Recovery & Wellness will formally become a division of Burrell Behavioral Health Services. Both founded in 1977, the organizations bring together critical components of mental health care that address a long-standing shortcoming of the industry – integration.

Formerly known as Sigma House, Clarity operates four area locations that provide inpatient, outpatient, family-based recovery services to 12,000 annual clients across 11 Ozarks counties. Its 80 employees will join a Burrell workforce of more than 1,000 mental health providers, support and administrative staff. The resulting organization will be one evolutionary step closer to Burrell’s main strategic objective, President and CEO Todd Schaible said.

“Our long-term goal within our primary areas of responsibility is to strive to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts,” he said. “Historically, we have not fully been able to do that.”

Mental illness and addiction have traditionally been treated separately, Schaible said, without much coordination between the disciplines. That “silo” approach has frequently caused undetected mental illness to undermine the effectiveness of recovery programs. By the same token, substance abuse often creates a smokescreen for psychiatric and psychological problems.

Schaible cites a growing body of research correlating increased addiction risk to mental health issues, from the serious schizophrenia, to common depression or anxiety. But while the co-occurrence of mental illness and addiction is estimated at more than 60 percent of the total diagnosed population, Schaible said only 7 percent of all patients receive concurrent treatment. He points out something as common as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder known as ADHD, can carry with it a nine-fold higher chance of substance abuse, but he noted very few single organizations are able to identify, diagnose and treat across the spectrum.

With the 2013 launch of Burrell’s developmental disabilities program and the acquisition of Clarity’s addiction services capacity, Burrell has become one of a few on that short list. Following health care’s integration lead, the resulting comprehensive behavioral health system is equipped to meet the demands of the federal Affordable Care Act and potential Medicaid expansion.

Mark Stringer, director of behavioral health for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, said while he has seen other mergers and acquisitions nationally, most have not been so quick to act on it.

“Burrell and Clarity are forward-thinking organizations,” he said. “They know as the country moves ahead to transform the health care system, there will be increasing demands for high-quality behavioral health services and that people who need them often do not fall into distinct categories. The new organization created by this merger will position it well for the future.”

In the merger, Burrell assumes Clarity’s assets and what Schaible characterizes as negligible debt. Schaible declined to disclose terms, but said the inclusion of Clarity’ $3.1 million annual income would push Burrell’s yearly revenue to nearly $65 million.

Despite a well-articulated strategy, fine-tuning the operational integration will be ongoing for the foreseeable future, said Clarity President and CEO Merna Eppick. Having operated as a board-governed nonprofit organization after separating from founding entity the Ozarks Council of Churches in the early 1990s, Clarity had just begun the long journey to rebrand itself this year.

She said while timing and organizational fit seemed right when Burrell first approached, there were several basic questions to affirm before moving forward with the merger.

“No.1, is it good for our clients?” said Eppick, whose new title will be vice president of addiction services. “No. 2, is it good for our staff? And No. 3, will it extend our organization’s visibility and mission? The answer to all three was ‘yes.’

“I believe this will allow us to become a stronger force for good in the community.”

The Clarity acquisition comes after for Burrell in January announced a merger with The School of Professional Psychology at the Forest Institute. Though the deal came with the assumption of Forest’s $2 million debt load, Schaible said securing the master’s- and doctoral-level training programs was critical to maintaining the necessary labor force to meet coming demand in this area.

Schaible said demand is increasing as rapidly as Burrell is adding services and training people to address it. According to a 2012 report from the U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, one in five people nationally have some form of mental illness or substance abuse problem, and 60 percent of those individuals are living without treatment. Beyond the annual $25 billion in lost earnings, mental health patients also represent a significant drain on the health care system, as two-thirds have at least one chronic medical condition. Mental health sufferers die an average of 25 years earlier than those without mental illness or addiction and are unlikely to have health insurance.