PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Oakland Community Health Network announced it will directly manage adult crisis care services starting in January, ending a decades-long partnership with the nonprofit Common Ground that has provided these services since 2012.
The transition affects the crisis center in Pontiac, where Common Ground operates seven-day-a-week crisis care. While the location will remain the same, the Oakland Community Health Network will take over operations from Common Ground.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
"Historically, Common Ground has been the big crisis vendor in this community and they are well known across the country, but it's time to make change," said Dana Lasenby, CEO and executive director of the Oakland Community Health Network.
Lasenby said the move will streamline coordination of crisis care services in Oakland County.
"We just know this is a great time and great opportunity to really improve those services and connect that continuum, so it works much better," Lasenby said.
However, Common Ground officials say the decision caught them by surprise and will be a huge blow to the organization.
"It's going to have a devastating effect on Common Ground," said Heather Rae, president and CEO of Common Ground. “To have a large public entity behave this way with a small nonprofit, I just really question what their motive is and why.”
Rae and other care providers argue the health network lacks the experience to provide the care themselves.
"I'm very concerned about their lack of experience. I'm very concerned about people not getting services because we don't have an agreed upon transition plan," Rae said.
Dan Cherrin, executive director of the MI Care Council, echoed those concerns.
“When people are at their worst, when they're looking to harm themselves or harm others, they reach out to the crisis line and on that other line are people at Common Ground," Cherrin said. "There's no reason the Oakland County Health Network should be coming in and taking over services from a provider that's been doing it for years, with no experience with doing it on their own."
OCHN plans to hire roughly 100 people to work the crisis center, including potentially bringing on current Common Ground employees who work at the crisis center. Common Ground will lose roughly $13 million in funding that OCHN pays them to work the crisis center.
"Entering the holidays, staff are very concerned about their jobs. There's about 175 people affected who we'll have to lay off or will hopefully be hired by OCHN," Rae said.
"Our goal is not to put them out of business or to take over everything; it really is how do we improve this service delivery to people who are in crisis," Lasenby said.
The decision has been months in the making, according to Lasenby, who hopes the two sides can work together during the transition.
"The timing is terrible, and the lack of coordinated plan between the two organizations is my concern for the people who are in crisis in Oakland County," Rae said.
"Change is hard, we do understand that, but we're trying to really work together, so this can be as seamless as possible to the people we serve," Lasenby said.
The Oakland Community Health Network says it may take the majority of 2026 to fully phase in this change.
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