Reply to Chesapeake ADHD closing its doors?

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[quote=Anonymous]I accidentally posted about this closure on the wrong forum here (Parenting - Special Concerns) and a former clinician at Chesapeake responded to my post. I hope he or she does not mind me copying and pasting their comment here:

[quote]
I was a 1099 clinician at Chesapeake, and I am honestly still trying to process how this ended. The practice closed on 1/1, after all admin staff had been on a planned holiday and vacation break from 12/24–1/2. The practice closed before they even returned. I was not paid for any clinical services provided in December. From what I can tell, none of the contracted clinicians were paid, including therapists and psychologists. I am also a contractor and was not paid.

It was a family run, very profit driven practice, which I had mixed feelings about, but I truly believed it was more organized and ethically grounded than this.

What feels especially troubling is that clinicians were told we are responsible for managing our own patient transitions, and that there would be no clinic wide communication. All office staff were fired, and the CEO was also fired last week. This has felt deeply destabilizing and unsafe for patients, and it raises serious concerns about continuity of care. The clinicians themselves were generally excellent, and the front line admin team was also strong.

I am heartbroken for the staff who unexpectedly lost their jobs and, for many, their income, immediately after the holidays. They were hardworking, deeply committed to patients, and deserved far better than this.

Admin staff were salaried and paid, while essentially all clinicians were contractors. I do not think any clinicians were paid for December.

This has been a devastating situation to witness, both professionally and personally. It is not how mental health care should be handled, and it has been painful to see the impact on patients, clinicians, and staff alike.[/quote]
I agree with the latter point. This is painful. I always had a good experience with the admin staff, they were very responsive and helpful when I would have hiccups with things like getting my son's medication taken care of. I like the two psychiatrists my child has seen there. It was very much a sacrifice to pay for all of this out of network, but one of the reasons I stuck with it was because I felt it was a stable, large practice that could meet my kid's needs long-term. We've been a part of the practice now for five years.

My kiddo actually has a talk therapy appointment this week -- thank goodness the therapist has given me his cell phone number, so I can contact him directly on Monday and see if there's some kind of plan for him to continue seeing patients. Leaving everyone in disarray to try to figure this out on their own, with no messaging from Chesapeake itself (yet?), is really poor form.

This is just a small thing, but my kid's billing records have also disappeared from Onpatient, the online portal they used to post statements. That means I can't download statements from my child's most recent visits, which means I have no way to submit them for HSA reimbursement. That's a pretty large chunk of money to now have to carry. [/quote]

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