Compass Health cuts child and family therapy services in Everett | HeraldNet.com

EVERETT — Compass Health is closing its outpatient child and family therapy program in Everett, the nonprofit confirmed this week.

Compass Health will stop the program at 4526 Federal Ave., CEO Tom Sebastian said, but plans to continue providing outpatient therapy for families elsewhere in Snohomish County. The nonprofit also plans to help Everett clients through telehealth.

The move is part of a company-wide reorganization due to rising service costs, Sebastian said. Compass Health, like other nonprofit health care organizations across the state, has struggled to overcome labor shortages, low insurance reimbursement rates and high client need.

The changes will affect 16 percent of Compass Health’s clients and 6 percent of its workforce (or 37 employees), the nonprofit said in a statement. Aside from the Federal Avenue location, the nonprofit confirmed its downsizing of staff and services elsewhere, but declined to share details.

Compass Health announced the news, along with layoff notices, to Everett employees at an emergency staff meeting Tuesday, said one worker, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. The worker said she received a termination notice after six years with the nonprofit.

Everett’s team served about 300 families, he said, with some therapists taking on 50 clients at a time.

“This is the hub of Compass Health services in the county,” he said. “It’s baffling.”

Compass Health is working to help Everett families move to other therapy sites, Sebastian said, and is adding staff positions at those sites. Laid-off workers at the Everett site are encouraged to apply for other positions, he said.

The worker said the location change is a big barrier for families, since Lynnwood and Smokey Point are the closest outpatient child and family therapy sites to Everett.

“A lot of our customers don’t have working vehicles, they don’t have money for gas, they’re single parents,” he said.

And even if families can commute, he said, most outpatient therapy programs are “overwhelming” to the point where they are either closed to new clients or have a waiting list.

“There’s nowhere else to go,” he said.

All other services at the Federal Avenue campus, including the intensive family outpatient program known as WISe, will continue, Sebastian said. These services have more sustainable reimbursement rates, he said, and benefit from an annual fundraising event. The nonprofit plans to expand its intensive therapy services for children and adults, including new positions for laid-off workers.

“Faulty Foundation”

In 2022, Snohomish County named mental health access and childhood trauma prevention as two of the county’s top five health needs. Nearly a quarter of the county’s students have had adverse childhood experiences, or “potentially traumatic” childhood events, according to a county health assessment released last year.

But even as Compass Health seeks to provide crucial mental health support to families, its financial shortfall is worsening. The nonprofit reported an operating loss of $169,000 in 2022 and confirmed its total loss was $1.8 million in 2023.

Office space costs hamper the nonprofit’s ability to pay for services, Sebastian said. By integrating doctors elsewhere, Compass Health “removes a lot of that burden,” he said.

“We’re just trying to find the most efficient way to keep services open,” he said.

To reduce access gaps, Compass Health only provides care to families with Medicaid. But the state’s current reimbursement model for behavioral health programs is “fundamentally flawed,” Sebastian said.

Currently, the reimbursement model is fee-for-service, where providers are paid for each service performed. This means that a program can only bill for specific services, and billing does not guarantee payment. In particular, outpatient therapy services have strict billing regulations, Sebastian said.

For the past seven years, Compass Health has championed the Certified Behavioral Health Community Center model. In this model, the state pays providers based on a predetermined, fixed amount. Several states have piloted the model with positive results. The Federally Qualified Health Center of Snohomish County uses a similar payment plan.

“It would allow us to project our costs over the next year to keep our doors open,” Sebastià said.

In 2020, Compass Health closed three outpatient centers in Marysville, Monroe and Snohomish after a decrease in client visits due to COVID-19 precautions. And in 2022, the nonprofit closed the county’s only behavioral health crisis center, cutting 29 jobs and leaving 254 clients to seek support elsewhere.

Last October, the nonprofit began construction on a $68.5 million intensive behavioral health facility in Everett to replace the crisis center. The new facility is part of Compass Health’s three-phase plan to transform the 3300 block of Broadway into a regional health care and low-barrier housing center.

The worker argued that Compass Health should focus more money and efforts on children, because mental health intervention at a young age is “crucial”.

“We’ve had kids come here because they couldn’t see over the (welcome) desk,” he said. “Now they are displaced.”

Those experiencing a mental health, substance use, or suicidal crisis can find services by calling or texting 988, or calling the crisis line at 800-584-3578.

Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.