Following the April notification of the pending closure of Community Healthlink and 78 layoffs, UMass Memorial Health has yet to set a specific date for when the Worcester-based affiliate will cease to exist.
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Following the April notification of the pending closure of Community Healthlink and 78 layoffs, UMass Memorial Health has yet to set a specific date for when the Worcester-based affiliate will cease to exist, as the future of its programs and patients is uncertain in a state dealing with a mental health crisis.
UMass Memorial originally planned to transfer 17 of the CHL mental and behavioral health programs to two other nonprofits, but one of those partners – Open Sky Community Services in Worcester – has said it will only take over two of those programs.
“Open Sky Community Services is continuing to plan for the opening of new residential recovery programs in Worcester and Leominster as Community Healthlink closes programs there,” said Open Sky CEO Ken Bates in a written statement. “There is no plan currently for Open Sky to operate any other Community Healthlink programs. Decisions about the future of those programs will be made by UMass Memorial Health with guidance from the state agencies that fund those services.”
Community Healthlink had billed itself as the largest mental healthcare provider of its kind in Central Massachusetts, serving more than 20,000 people and families each year, regardless of their ability to pay. It provides inpatient and outpatient care for children and adults, as well as substance use treatment.
UMass Memorial officials said they do not have a specific date for when Community Healthlink will officially close.
Programs like Community Healthlink servicing low-income patients with government or no insurance often struggle to support themselves financially, and its closure comes as UMass Memorial faces larger economic headwinds and a workforce shortage. In fiscal 2025, the entire UMass Memorial system had a $160-million operating loss.
Community Healthlink holds a significant portion of the market share in terms of sliding scale and free mental healthcare services in Central Massachusetts.
In comparison, the Worcester nonprofit Open Sky Community Services serves 8,000 people annually, according to a 2023 annual report. Another nonprofit with a similar target population, the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, which provides medical and behavioral care, served nearly 35,000 patients in 2024. The Seven Hills Foundation, also in Worcester, provided behavioral health services to 1,440 people in the past year.
The Service Employees International Union Local 509, which represents workers at Community Healthlink, said in a statement that downsizing healthcare workers would have a detrimental impact on care in the region.
“We regularly receive calls from individuals struggling to access care, while emergency rooms remain backed up with people waiting days for appropriate referrals,” the union said in a written statement. “The lived experiences of our clients and the communities we serve make this reality unmistakably clear, and we will continue advocating to ensure that client-centered care and retention of the workforce remain at the center of this transition.”
Gov. Maura Healey has declared the state of Massachusetts to be dealing with a mental health crisis. Nearly 1.4 million adults in the state have a mental health condition, according to a 2025 report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, and 343,000 adults in the state reported needing mental healthcare and not receiving it between 2018 and 2019, with many citing cost as a barrier.
The fate of Community Healthlink’s current or would-be patients remains unclear. In terms of labor, the nonprofit will lay off 78 people by the end of June, according to a May 1 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing. Two other behavioral health organizations announced layoffs during the same reporting period, including 52 at the Taunton-based Community Counseling of Bristol County and 70 at the Western Mass. consortium Innovative Care Partners, LLC.
Community Healthlink provides both mandatory and voluntary mental healthcare, including the Worcester County Juvenile Court Clinic. The clinic provides court-ordered mental health evaluations for children and families under an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Trial Court of Massachusetts. The Department of Mental Health declined to provide comment on the program’s future, although UMass Memorial said it was working closely with the state to determine a transition.
Monica Benevides is a correspondent for Worcester Business Journal.
