Mental Health Partners and Clinica Family Health Merger
Uniting physical, mental, and oral health care to better serve our community
ANNOUNCEMENT
A Message from Our Leaders
We are excited to share that Mental Health Partners (MHP) and Clinica Family Health (Clinica) intend to merge into one organization. The new organization will be called Clinica Family Health & Wellness. We will provide physical, mental, and oral health services from locations across Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin, and Adams counties. We anticipate the merger to be completed in September 2024.
More than anything else, this merger is about providing the highest quality, most comprehensive care possible for our patients and clients. By uniting, we combine the amazing talents and services of our two organizations to create a healthcare agency that further expands access to services and creates a whole-person care model capable of better serving those most in need across our communities.
Adapting to changing healthcare landscapes to better serve our community
We recognize that the healthcare environment is rapidly changing and access to care in a fragmented system is a significant challenge. We often wish we could remove barriers in the healthcare system and bring together more resources to meet the unique needs of our patients and clients. For the past 2 years, MHP and Clinica have been thoughtfully discussing how we could better work together to address these realities. It became abundantly clear that merging—leveraging over 100 years of combined experience and expertise in physical and behavioral health—was the strongest way to effect meaningful change.
By merging a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and a Community Mental Health Center (CMHC), Clinica Family Health & Wellness will be better positioned to provide the most comprehensive care possible for the populations we serve. When someone is seeking health and healing, they don’t want to navigate a difficult landscape of referrals, hunt for new providers, and explain their medical history over and over from the beginning. They want seamlessly coordinated care from providers they have built lifelong relationships with and better access to specialists when they need them. By creating a more integrated, collaborative, and team-based environment among your healthcare providers, we can better meet your health goals. In our history of doing this work together, MHP and Clinica have already seen measurable, positive results reported directly by our patients and clients
Long-time partners poised to join together
Clinica and MHP have built a strong partnership going back over three decades. Our two organizations share similar values, missions, and visions of access to high-quality, affordable health care for all income levels and regardless of insurance status. We care for our communities with cultural humility, and joining together enables us to advocate more effectively for health equity.
Simon Smith, the current President & CEO of Clinica Family Health, will be the President & CEO of Clinica Family Health & Wellness. The current co-CEOs of Mental Health Partners, Jen Leosz and Dixie Casford, have been appointed to new roles: Chief Integrated Health Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, respectively.
As a combined entity, we aim to positively impact policies, systems, and funding structures in ways we could not do individually.
Leading communities into a stronger healthcare future
This merger aims to magnify the collective talents and skills of both teams in exciting and innovative ways. MHP and Clinica complement each other in many ways. By uniting, over time we will be able to expand our areas of expertise, offer more professional development and career advancement opportunities, enhance the ways we can support and meet the needs of our staff, and be even more attractive in recruiting and retaining staff—which is especially powerful as the healthcare industry continues to navigate a workforce shortage.
The process of bringing two organizations together with such a diverse range of programs and services requires a considerable amount of time and diligent consideration. We will spend the coming months thoughtfully and intentionally engaging with our patients/clients, colleagues, and community partners to make this process as smooth as possible.
We thank you for your continued trust and support as the leading high-quality, affordable healthcare providers in your community. As we take this next step together to best respond to and meet the evolving healthcare needs of our community, we are honored to continue forging the path ahead as healthcare leaders and innovators.
Onward!
Simon Smith, Jen Leosz, and Dixie Casford
A Message to Our Clients
We are excited to share that this merger means you will have better access to more services, including physical, mental, and oral health care. We aim to make this transition as smooth as possible for you, and there will be no immediate impact on how you receive care and who you receive care from. More information will be coming soon. For specific questions about your treatment or care plan, please contact your treatment or health care team.
WHOLE PERSON HEALTH
A holistic approach to healthcare
With this merger, we seek to enhance our shared vision of whole-person care. We seek to provide better care for our patients and clients with full awareness of their physical, mental, and social needs. By creating collaborative care systems, we are better equipped to bring the right levels of care to communities across our region in a more comprehensive, prevention-focused, and person-centered way.
Comprehensive care
Whole-person care empowers patients and clients to work with a comprehensive care team comprised of a variety of specialists tailored just for you – including primary care doctors, nurses, case managers, dental hygienists, and behavioral health providers.
Multidisciplinary teams
Team-based care — with specialists in physical, mental, and oral health — allows us to work collaboratively with patients and clients. With strong communication among the providers involved in your care, we can accomplish shared goals for improved health much more effectively.
Clinically proven results
Data shows that health outcomes improve when traditional silos of care are broken down. In our long history of partnership, MHP and Clinica have seen measurable, positive results by dismantling these silos and integrating services. Officially uniting means we can provide SAMHSA’s highest level of integrated care so that we may “truly treat the whole person” and witness “all or almost all system barriers resolved.”
Pursing health equity
Joining together also enables us to advocate for health equity more effectively for those who have historically been ignored or harmed when seeking care for themselves or loved ones. As a combined entity, we aim to positively shape policies, systems, and funding structures in ways we could not do alone. This work is crucial for both of our organizations, which are deeply rooted in the transformative work of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.