Youth Bridge, Burrell Behavioral Health on track for merger

Fayetteville-based Youth Bridge Inc. has signed a letter of intent to explore a “collaborative merger” with Springfield, Mo.-based Burrell Behavioral Health. The two behavioral health providers serve more than 45,000 youth and adults in Missouri and Arkansas. The deal is expected to be completed by late April.

The deal will extend Burrell’s continuum of care into the Northwest Arkansas market. In turn, Burrell’s existing school-based programs would operate under the Youth Bridge name in Missouri.

Burrell Behavioral Health, established in 1977, is the second largest Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in Missouri, working with more than 40,000 clients as the state-contracted Community Mental Health Clinic (CMHC) in 17 Missouri counties, with approximately 130 licensed providers offering a full continuum of care through an integrated network. Burrell’s services include individual therapy and counseling, addiction recovery, psychiatric and medication management, educational and therapeutic groups, crisis intervention, adult stabilization, case management, residential treatment, diagnostic testing and evaluations and developmental disability support.

“In Burrell we have found a partner who is not only financially and operationally sound but also mission-focused, with a long history of commitment to the communities it serves,” Youth Bridge President and CEO Darryl Rhoda said in a statement. “Burrell is led by an involved, committed board of directors and a management team that shares Youth Bridge’s values of respect, integrity, service above self, empowerment and excellence.”

Youth Bridge was established in 1963 in Winslow, and provides services to Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Marion, Madison, Newton and Washington counties.

“We have established deep roots during our 55 years of serving our region and this merger is a key step in allowing us to expand our services to our communities, schools and judicial system, even in this era of reduced Medicaid reimbursement and financial uncertainty,” Rhoda said. “The need for the services we provide is greater than ever, and with Burrell’s 40-plus years of expertise in the behavioral health industry, its administrative capacity and additional sources of revenue, we will be in a better position than ever to provide those services and meet our mission, now and well into the future.”

For Burrell, the opportunity to learn from and expand on Youth Bridge’s experience in school-based services provides a springboard for its youth services department, which launched in June 2018 and has since signed agreements to provide behavioral health consultation and services for more than 30 school districts in southwest and central Missouri, including Springfield Public Schools, the largest school district in the state.

“This is an exciting time for behavioral health in Arkansas, Missouri and our country,” Burrell President/CEO C.J. Davis said in a statement. “Both Youth Bridge and Burrell have long histories of serving their communities, and Burrell is thrilled by the possibility of joining forces with such an organization and its expert, professional team, not only to increase access to care for youth and adults, but to help shape and lead the behavioral health conversation on a regional and national level. This is absolutely a win-win for both our companies and our communities.”