Wedge Recovery Centers will close behavioral health services after 31-year run in Philadelphia

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An organization that provided mental health and addiction treatment services in Philadelphia for more than three decades will shut its doors at the end of the month.

Wedge Recovery Centers, which has eight locations across the city, will work on transferring clients to other programs over the next several weeks as the organization winds down operations.

In a May 5 letter to staff and clients, Wedge leaders said the closure comes after three consecutive years of financial losses and other attempts to cut costs, including downsizing and pursuing a merger or acquisition with other local providers.

“Ultimately, with rising overhead costs, decreased census due to shrinking Medical Assistance enrollment, and lack of ability or interest from local and state entities to provide financial support, we find our position untenable,” CEO Jason McLaughlin wrote.

The organization provided outpatient treatment, counseling and support for people with mental health conditions, substance use disorders or both.

Final program services for substance use and psychiatry will end by May 16. Clients may be eligible for six-month prescription refills to cover any potential gaps. All mental health outpatient programs, including psychiatry, will end by May 30.

Current and past clients as well as former staff are lamenting the loss to the community.

Brennan Jordan, a licensed professional counselor, worked at Wedge between 2011 and 2014. He said it “felt like home” and called it a lifeline for many people in need of care and with few options where they lived.

“Working there as a young therapist, it felt like trial by fire,” he said. “It was some of the hardest work I’ve done in my career, but also some of the most rewarding.”

When he heard about the closure this week, Jordan said it felt unreal.

“It’s really sad and I’m pretty scared that if things don’t change and public mental health programs and agencies don’t get more funding from the city, the state and on the federal level, closures like this will just keep on happening,” he said. “It’s not going to only hurt the clients that they serve, it’s going to hurt everyone.”

Wedge was a provider under nonprofit Community Behavioral Health, also known as CBH, which manages contracts and payments for Philadelphia behavioral health organizations that serve people with Pennsylvania Medicaid insurance, also known as Medical Assistance.

CEO Donna Bailey said the city nonprofit will also send letters to clients and patients notifying them of the closure and work closely with Wedge to ensure that people get connected to new treatment and recovery programs.

“They have taken a very proactive and aggressive approach to all the steps and transitions,” she said of Wedge.

Bailey said that despite the sad circumstances, other programs throughout Philadelphia do currently have the capacity to take on new clients and provide the same or similar services, “so we’re not concerned about people being lost to the system.”

“The Wedge has been a strong partner over the time that they’ve been an in-network provider for us,” Bailey said. “But I think the fact that they have been so thoughtful and so planful is a testament to the commitment that they have to their staff and their members.”

Andrew Devos, CBH chief operations officer, said their teams will meet with Wedge beyond May 30 to make sure clients, and in some cases, staff, have found new placements.

“In these scenarios, people will often want to just go where their therapist is going,” he said.

Wedge Recovery Centers was founded by Filipino immigrants Armando and Dr. Minda Magundayao. The two opened the organization’s first office in January 1994 in “a wedge-shaped building” at 67th Street and North Broad in North Philly.

It offered mental health and drug and alcohol treatment, according to the organization’s website.

Wedge leaders said they remain hopeful for their clients in their continued recovery journeys, and paid tribute to staff and the community.

“You are the embodiment of our mission,” McLaughlin wrote in a letter. “Our appreciation goes out to all who supported and lived out the mission of the Wedge Recovery Centers — you will remain in our hearts.”

Wedge clients with questions about care and transfers can call the organization at 215-276-3922. For people with Medicaid insurance, they can also contact CBH member services at 888-545-2600.