Rescue Crisis to close permanently June 30
May 28—Rescue Crisis on Friday announced that it will shut down permanently June 30 when the current county contract expires because while the county can't award the service contract to someone else, it is going to stop paying Rescue Crisis when the contract expires.
John DeBruyne, president and chief executive officer of Rescue Mental Health & Addiction Services, which provides community mental-health services in Lucas County, told the Blade he gave the agency's employees a 30-day termination notice when the agency's management and employees met Friday.
The Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Lucas County last fall issued a request for proposals for a vendor to provide services. The current vendor, Rescue Crisis, submitted a bid but wasn't selected. Rescue Crisis in March got a judge to issue an injunction to prevent the county board from awarding the contract at all.
MHRSB Executive Director Scott Sylak refused to comment citing the ongoing litigation.
The complaint, filed in February, contends the board's request-for-proposals process constitutes an illegal competitive bidding process and violates good-faith bargaining requirements in accordance with both state statute and its existing contract with Rescue that expires June 30.
"We hold that the board has engaged in an unlawful bidding plan, which threatens to interrupt continuity of care for our most vulnerable residents at a time when the convergence of the opioid crisis and COVID-19 pandemic have escalated the demand for our services to an all-time high," Mr. DeBruyne said after the judge's ruling. "We welcome today's decision. Rescue is heavily invested in our community, and we look forward to working with the board so that we may continue to provide our clients with these critical services."
Rescue serves about 8,000 clients and about 70 percent of the organization's funding is provided through the contract with the county, up to about $4.5 million, court records state.
Court records also show the board had selected finalists in the RFP process that began in November, including Rescue, which participated "under protest." The board had not yet scheduled interviews with the finalists, and those are now prohibited through the court's order until "the parties have attempted to resolve their dispute by good faith negotiation and collaboration" under the state statute.
