2 Phoenix nonprofit health care organizations to consolidate and expand services

PHOENIX – Two Phoenix nonprofit health care organizations are consolidating in order to provide more services and to address staffing shortages, according to an announcement on Monday.

Terros Health and Lifewell, two companies that focus on mental health and substance use treatment, entered into a consolidation agreement that will allow both companies to utilize its existing services and expand them to more people in the community.

Terros Health will receive resources for access to housing and vocational rehabilitation services while Lifewell’s patients will now have more specialty services, such as HIV prevention and treatment, child and adolescent services, and specialized care for people in the justice system.

“Lifewell and Terros Health have a long history of collaboration, as well as similar missions and values,” Dr. Karen Hoffman Tepper, president and CEO of Terros Health, said in a press release. “As we explored how to best serve our patients and communities, we discovered our ability to provide greater access to a wider range of services as a combined entity.”

The two organizations will merge on Oct. 1, with Lifewell’s clinical services and five Valley outpatient clinics operating under the Terros Health brand. Tepper will remain the president and CEO while Lifewell’s CEO Doris Hotz will join Terros Health’s executive leadership team.

The new company will have 50,000 patients per year and 1,300 employees spread across 13 clinics. The company estimates it will generate approximately $150 million in annual revenue.

The consolidation will allow for more financial availability and address staffing shortages in the industry, Tepper said in the press release.

Before the consolidation, Terros Health employed 925 people and Lifewell had 375 employees. Lifewell employees will transition to Terros Health on Jan. 1, 2025.

Terros Health does not plan to close any clinics or layoff any employees but intends to add to the workforce as it expands its outreach outside of Maricopa County. Tepper said that Lifewell and Terros Health clinics that are close to each other will remain open since they both offer a diverse amount of services.

“Long term, we see the potential for consolidating technology and collocating lines of business to streamline the referral process and give patients access to more services from a single location,” Tepper said. “As important, we see our integration as a way to create specialization in our workforce so we can work at an even higher level.”

Lifewell will rebrand its sites throughout 2024 and 2025.