River Edge Behavioral Health Center might have to close its doors in five years if recent budget trends and staff productivity do not drastically improve.
That’s the sobering message River Edge’s community service board heard at its April 17 meeting.
Although last month’s revenue figures were up, CFO Shane Hester showed operating losses the last three fiscal years, including a $5 million deficit in Fiscal Year 24.
The Macon-based organization serves people from 130 counties in Georgia by providing services and support for mental health issues, substance use disorder, 24-hour crisis stabilization and assistance for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In FY19, the organization served more than 9,000 clients with 517 employees compared to the current fiscal year’s projected 7,400 clients who are managed by 662 workers.
So far this fiscal year, River Edge racked up $1.7 million in overtime costs which CEO Cass Hatcher said was primarily due to staff members calling off work at their 24-hour operations which required others to fill in.
Three-quarters into FY25, River Edge is running at a $1.6 million deficit with three months to go before the fiscal year ends June 30, Hester said.
“This tells me you’re either overstaffed or we’re not working hard enough,” Hester told the board.
Employee productivity is key to turning around the organization’s finances as Medicaid reimbursements for client services have dropped, he said.
Numbers are beginning to trend in the right direction.
In March, River Edge served 11,367 people, up from a low of 8,729 in January for this fiscal year to date.
“When I saw what March looked like, it made me feel better because what we talked about the other day is, had it continued to what we were looking at prior to March’s numbers being finalized, we couldn’t have kept these doors open for another five years,” Hester said.
River Edge places revenue-generating workers on a watch list when their measured productivity of targeted goals drops to less than 75% and they do not bring in enough billing revenue to cover the cost of their salary and benefits.
Hester displayed a chart that showed a correlation between the percentage of employees on the watch list and the budget deficits.
In Fiscal Year 19, the watch list contained 25% of those workers and the organization was able to post $5.5 million profit. In FY24, 70% were on the watch list when the deficit was over $5 million.
In FY25 through this March, the gap between what workers generated in billing and the 75% threshold amounted to about $3 million over 9 months. Average productivity is down to 54% for the organization as a whole, Hester said.
Hatcher said he’s seen a significant drop in hitting productivity targets since the onset of COVID-19.
“Coming out of the pandemic, people got lazy. They haven’t gone out to see clients, they’re not making patient visits. They basically don’t want to travel in their car, they want to stay at their desk. Especially the case manager, their job is to be out in the field at certain times. So, basically we’ve gotten complacent and lazy and not really going to see the clients,” Hatcher said.
Refocused on productivity
At about the same time in 2021, the prior administrative team shifted the responsibility of monitoring productivity down to the manager level and the numbers started sliding downward.
“They dropped the ball,” Hatcher said
The recent downward revenue trend led to River Edge’s administrative team focusing again on productivity.
They had some “candid conversations” with employees in recent months, Hatcher said.
“We need to change some processes to get the cart out of the ditch,” Hatcher said. “We have some good feedback from the staff, so basically we continue to push it and make some personnel changes. We say ‘right person, right seat’ and processes. So, we’re focused on that and pushing it back to the administrative level.”
Hester stressed the urgency of getting finances in order due to the pending construction of the nearly $15 million new headquarters building off the 2700 block of Riverside Drive behind the Quik Trip. Construction estimates are pending for a maintenance building and outpatient clinic on the same property.
Hatcher is confident River Edge will have the money for that new headquarters, but tariff uncertainty and construction delays could increase the cost and require additional financing.
“There’s not a bank that’s going to loan us money, not with three years of operating loss,” Hester said.
While River Edge is anxious to begin construction, project managers recently learned of soil contamination from an old dry cleaning operation on the property.
If necessary, mitigating could tack on another half-million dollars to the project.
While the state is providing funding for the new outpatient clinic on that property, River Edge will be responsible for finding funding for its administration and maintenance buildings.
Hatcher plans to appeal to the Macon-Bibb County Economic and Community Development Department for infrastructure funding for the project, he said.
Putting off construction would not be feasible because Macon-Bibb County has asked River Edge to leave its current location off Emery Highway that they used to share with the health department before it moved to Forsyth Street.
Although the organization has financially struggled in recent years, Hatcher is confident they can turn things around.
“I’m very optimistic we’re going to get the money to do the headquarters building,” Hatcher said.
New facilities opening this year
In addition, the state is helping fund construction for the new $14 million Adult Peer Support & Community Integration Center at the corner of Ingleside Avenue and Riverside Drive.
That 35,480-square-foot, two-story building includes an all-inclusive gymnasium, arts and music rooms, calming rooms, a teaching kitchen and rooms for group sessions.
The facility is expected to lure new clients who are struggling due to traumatic events or substance use issues, and those who are challenged by psychiatric disorders or intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The building, designed by Azar + Walsh Architects and under construction by Sheridan Construction and Stafford Builders & Consultants, is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
River Edge also partnered with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and Mercer University for the new Crisis Services Diagnostic Center behind the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center.
That building will not only provide in-patient care for those in crisis, but also provides a clinic to meet the basic health and dental needs of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities from across the state. The Macon Newsroom took an exclusive tour of that new facility and will publish an update on that project next month.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
