By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun
Larimer County’s community mental health center has abruptly laid off 75 employees, causing a gap in care for some of the most vulnerable patients and increasing concerns about how far the fallout will spread after a seismic shift in Medicaid funding.
Connor Grogan had 35 clients at SummitStone Health Partners in Fort Collins when he was told at a mandatory meeting last week that he was among those losing their jobs because of a budget crisis. He had to turn in his phone and laptop on the spot, with no opportunity to say goodbye to his patients.
“It was unethical the way that it was handled,” said Grogan, who had counseled children, families and adults at the center for more than two years. “At the very least, I feel like it is not trauma-informed, which is something that SummitStone had been preaching about for quite some time.”