Chicago Therapists and Clients Protest Unexpected Closure of Major Mental Health Clinic
Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 12:59 pm
Chicago Therapists and Clients Protest Unexpected Closure of Major Mental Health Clinic
BY Arielle Zionts
Mental health activist N’Dana Carter says that in 2011, when Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that half of the city’s mental health clinics would close, he pointed to the Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) as an alternative resource. But now, C4 is shutting its doors—leaving clinic staff without paychecks and clients unsure about where to receive mental health services.
On April 23, C4 staff received an email from CEO Eileen Durkin with the subject line “Sad news about C4.” The email said the agency would close by May 31 due to financial difficulties caused by a transition to a new electronic health record (EHR) system. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) required all Medicare eligible professionals to adopt EHRs by 2015.
“We don't really understand how that could account for shutting down an entire agency that’s 30-plus years old with 300-plus employees in six months," therapist Anna Goldberger said.
Yesterday, around 100 people—including C4 staff and patients, activists with the Mental Health Movement, Arise Chicago and SEIU Local 73 members—rallied outside C4’s headquarters on Clark Street in the Uptown neighborhood. They called for a way to keep the clinics open—or at the very least, transparency in the crafting of a transition plan for over 300 staff who will lose their jobs and over 10,000 patients who will need to find new therapists and psychiatrists.
More:
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17913/chicago_therapists_and_clients_protest_unexpected_unexpected_closure_of_maj
