Dr. John Burruss is retiring at the end of April after 13 years as CEO of Metrocare, Dallas County’s largest provider of mental health and developmental disability services. Metrocare serves more than 50,000 people annually and operates one of the busiest community mental health centers in the state, conducting more than 3,000 clinical encounters per day.
Building the Organization
Burruss stepped into his role as CEO in April 2013 with the goal of building Metrocare from a “surviving” operation into a “thriving” one. Under his leadership, the organization has increased walk-in capacity from approximately 50 per day to 135 per day and revamped, refinished, or rebuilt essentially all of its buildings. Burruss brought experience as both a general practitioner and physiatrist, with more than 25 years in medical practice.
According to state data, Metrocare saw 15% of all mental health visits in Texas last year, despite Dallas County representing only 8% of the state’s population—demonstrating that they are overperforming by roughly double relative to the county’s share of the state population. The organization operates a no-wait model where clients are seen regardless of ability to pay.
Leadership Transition and Future Outlook
Metrocare’s board chair, Stacy Cantu, said the search committee hopes to select the new CEO by May 1. Cantu emphasized the board is seeking “a CEO who can motivate the team, be a leader, be dedicated” to the mission, quality of care, and growing the organization. Burruss advised his successor that mental health care is “a low margin business” requiring constant effort to balance service expansion with fiscal responsibility. He noted that the vast majority of clients choose in-person services over remote options when given the choice, suggesting that human connection remains central to mental health treatment regardless of emerging technologies.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.keranews.org/health-wellness/2026-02-19/metrocare-ceo-john-burress-community-mental-health-texas-dallas-county