Laurel Ridge Treatment Center announced that 648 employees would be laid off, effective June 26, sparking concerns about mental health care capacity in San Antonio. The facility, located near Loop 1604 and Redland Road, offers inpatient and outpatient treatment for both mental health and drug and alcohol problems. The layoffs come weeks after the state announced it would no longer allow the facility to treat patients using Medicare or Medicaid, citing Laurel Ridge’s failure to meet patient health and safety requirements.
Community Impact
According to a letter obtained by local news, employees will not be eligible for rehire within the company. Laurel Ridge made news just a few weeks ago when the state announced the Medicare and Medicaid restrictions. The inability of Medicare and Medicaid patients to receive treatment at the facility is already having a ripple effect throughout the community.
Jelynne LeBlanc Jamison, president and CEO of the Center for Health Care Services, explained that “the Medicare/Medicaid patients, those unfunded patients, they will be coming our way for all of our hospitals, all of our participating hospitals.” She said the result will be a total of 450 fewer inpatient and outpatient beds available for people who need treatment for mental health. Jamison stated: “This just exacerbates the problem. We already knew we had an issue. We had a shortage, and now it’s even exaggerated by this loss.”
Recently, Sacriste met with the Center for Health Care Services and informed them of the impending layoffs, letting them know the employees would be available for other jobs. Laurel Ridge’s CEO, Ashley Sacriste, has not publicly addressed the situation, declining multiple interview requests since last November.
Patient Safety Concerns
A former patient’s parent, whose teenage daughter was treated for depression at the facility five years ago, spoke anonymously to local news: “It was a two-week period, and it was an absolute nightmare. And I would never bring my child here again.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://headtopics.com/news/impending-layoffs-at-laurel-ridge-treatment-center-spark-82792273