Addiction treatment center Maryhaven is fighting to keep funding and stakeholder trust as it struggles to stay financially solvent while serving tens of thousands of Ohioans.
The nonprofit, which provides behavioral health care services to central Ohio, was recently warned it could lose funding by the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health [ADAMH] Board of Franklin County. In a June 19 letter, ADAMH cited concerns that Maryhaven cannot stay afloat even with millions in financial support, that Maryhaven is still in trouble, and that it failed to provide the board with a detailed plan to keep the treatment center operating.
In a June 29 letter obtained by The Dispatch, Maryhaven acknowledged to ADAMH that the nonprofit is under significant financial stress and that it “takes the concerns raised by ADAMH seriously.” But it also asserts that Maryhaven has stayed “actively engaged” with ADAMH and local officials, handed over any requested information, and been transparent about finances.
Maryhaven has been in operation since 1953 and serves between 8,000 and 10,000 adults and children per year, according to the nonprofit. Its services include 24/7 substance detox services, inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment, counseling and gambling addiction help, among many other services.
Maryhaven’s struggles due to Medicaid changes, system problems
In December, Maryhaven received a $1 million loan from the city of Columbus. The loan came just three months after the organization received $1.5 million in OneOhio Opioid Settlement funds from the Franklin County Commissioners via the county’s ADAMH Board. Still, the board said in its letter, Maryhaven’s situation failed to improve.
“Despite this unprecedented level of intervention, recent financial data and ongoing compliance issues from Maryhaven demonstrate a trajectory of severe financial distress that threatens your ability to sustain operations,” Erika Clark Jones, president and CEO of ADAMH, wrote in the letter to Maryhaven leadership.
Part of that money was meant to help offset difficulties implementing a new electronic health record [EHR] system, which deals with billing, clinical documentation and other data. According to Maryhaven’s letter, the nonprofit had to try multiple systems and the changes created delays in billing and reimbursement processes, a factor in its financial problems.
The nonprofit saw fewer patients that expected from January through April in 2026.
Maryhaven spokesperson Boomer Schmidt previously told The Dispatch that recent changes to Medicaid eligibility have hurt Maryhaven. That includes an increase in uninsured patients and not being paid for services. In an emailed statement on July 10, Schmidt said that the nonprofit provided more than 6,200 services to non-Medicaid-eligible clients, which cost Maryhaven more than $550,000.
“As a safety-net organization, we do not refuse services to those that cannot pay and we have been forced to make difficult decisions to ensure we are able to continue to provide best-in-class care to anyone in need that walks through our doors,” Schmidt said in an emailed statement.
In its letter, ADAMH stated that Maryhaven’s financial projections did not line up with actual performance. Maryhaven conceded that its projected revenue was “overly optimistic” in light of EHR and billing system problems, as well as treating fewer patients than expected.
Maryhaven’s Internal Revenue Service 990 forms through 2024 to 2025 show it operating in multimillion-dollar deficits since tax year 2022. The organization raised more than it spent in 2021, but operated in a deficit in 2020, 2019 and 2018.
In 2025, an independent audit commissioned by Maryhaven identified “a deficiency in internal financial or governance controls that could limit the organization’s ability to track and report financial data reliably,” according to ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer.
How Maryhaven proposes to stay in business
Maryhaven has proposed using an independent financial advisory firm to help it with a sustainability plan, which it will submit to ADAMH by July 31. Financial projections, which previously included “anticipated improvement,” will now be based on past data.
The nonprofit also made changes to facility rules, such as allowing smoking in certain outdoor areas and easing rules on family visitation post-COVID 19 epidemic, which they say raised patient numbers 20% in May and June 2026 from previous months.
Maryhaven reported that the EHR system is now working as intended, but that they will send monthly updates to ADAMH on system performance.
Maryhaven also told ADAMH that the Franklin County Board of Commissioners is working to appoint three new board members to the nonprofit, among other measures to ensure communication about problems and progress.
“We are asking for the opportunity to demonstrate, on the timeline above and with independent validation, that Maryhaven can meet the standards ADAMH and this community require,” the letter stated.
Despite its financial issues, Maryhaven stated in its response letter that its actual patient programs are doing well and even improving, and that “client satisfaction scores remain strong.”
“Maryhaven plays a vital role in our community’s safety net, and ADAMH values their partnership in meeting the mental health and addiction needs of Franklin County residents,” Alex Drummer, a spokesperson for ADAMH, told The Dispatch in an emailed statement. “ADAMH is working with Maryhaven to schedule a meeting to discuss a path forward.”
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Maryhaven pleads for time to address ‘severe financial distress’ of treatment center
Reporting by Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
