Patients at Red Oak Counseling in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, are scrambling to find mental health care after receiving generic closure letters with less than a month’s notice announcing the Optum-owned clinic’s closure set for February 25. Letters provided minimal information about treatment plan transfers, continuity of care, or reasons for the closure, leaving patients shocked and concerned about access to ongoing mental health services.
An Optum spokesperson stated the company “remains deeply committed to delivering high-quality, affordable care” and said the closure was part of efforts to “ensure services meet the evolving needs of our business and the people we serve.” Certain clinical staff will remain on site through the end of March to transition care and manage prescriptions while an alternate provider is found. However, the minimal notice has sparked concern about systemic issues in the mental health care industry.
The closure highlights ongoing challenges in mental health care where high demand meets limited supply. “The really good providers are hard to get in to, so having a wait list, those are all additional concerns,” one former patient said. Gina Brindowski, owner of South Shore Counseling, observed that smaller clinics are being purchased by large conglomerates like Lifestance and Optum: “We have watched this happen across our industry. As smaller clinics are purchased by large, kind of more conglomerate places like Lifestance and Optum, they can sometimes put out the little guy or the smaller clinic.”
Following the closure announcement, multiple mental health care providers reached out offering to help displaced patients. Providers reaching out include American Behavioral Clinics, Ellie Mental Health locations, New Prospects Counseling Services, South Shore Counseling, Edelica Health, Sami Health Services, Katz-Gilbertson Psychotherapy Associates, Inner Resources, and Empower Mental Health and Wellness. One patient noted that the generosity was heartening: “It’s one of the reasons I love living in this city because the people in it are so generous.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/local-mental-health-care-providers-step-in-as-red-oak-counseling-patients-left-scrambling-for-care