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Coleman may also buy the Youngstown-based Turning Point
WARREN
Coleman Professional Services, with offices in Warren, has taken over management of Turning Point Counseling Services for 60 to 90 days with an eye toward buying the Youngstown-based behavioral health services operation.
The Turning Point board chose Coleman from among 11 agencies that responded to a request for proposals to take over the Belmont Avenue agency.
In a news release, Coleman said it is in discussion regarding a letter of intent to purchase assets from Turning Point after the management agreement period is complete.
These agreements would enable Coleman to provide uninterrupted behavioral health services to Turning Point clients and Mahoning County residents, officials said.
“As we begin this management agreement and complete the due diligence required in the letter of intent, we will work hard in improving and growing Turning Point,” said Nelson Burns, Coleman president and chief executive officer.
Scott Essad, Turning Point’s interim executive director and president of its board, said Turning Point came about as the result of a merger between Parkview Counseling Services and Eastern Behavioral Health.
Officials said Turning Point’s disruption in executive leadership over the last year and new demands on behavioral-health organizations due to Medicaid redesign, managed-care readiness and other issues led the board to issue a statewide request for proposals for the agency’s management and future.
Turning Point, which has been serving the needs of indigent people with mental-health issues, will no longer be funded by the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board for that purpose, said Duane J. Piccirilli, executive director of the county mental health agency, which provided $966,831 to Turning Point for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2016, and ended at the end of June this year.
“Mahoning County is fortunate to have a variety of behavioral health providers with whom the mental health board has contracts,” Piccirilli said.
Among them are Alta Care Group, Catholic Charities Regional Agency, Compass Family and Community Services, Community Services Network, Flying HIGH Inc., Help Network of Northeast Ohio, Meridian HealthCare, Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic and Youngstown Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program for core services.
The recent management contract of Turning Point by Coleman will allow clients with Medicaid and other third-party insurances another option to meet their needs, Piccirilli said.