AWARE Inc., Western Montana Mental Health Center announce merger
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
3 of 3 free articles.
News from AWARE Inc.
MONTANA - AWARE Inc. and Western Montana Mental Health Center (WMMHC) announced today that the two long-standing organizations are unifying to create a stronger entity that will provide a robust range of mental health, disability, and early intervention support. This includes services such as case management and coordination, Early Head Start, housing support, psychiatric care, substance use treatment, assisted living, counseling, group homes, and crisis intervention.
“We are excited to share this news. By joining these two organizations, we are streamlining support for our clients,” said Matt Bugni, CEO of AWARE. “Together we can align our resources and talents, ensuring we continue to provide the highest quality of support for the individuals, children, families, and communities we serve.”
WMMHC opened in 1971 to provide behavioral healthcare throughout Western Montana. It currently operates in Missoula, Flathead, Ravalli, Lincoln, Silver Bow, Deer Lodge, Lake, Sanders, and Gallatin counties. In Flathead and Lake counties, WMMHC provides mental health outpatient treatment, substance use disorder treatment, medication management, adult case management, and other services. AWARE, which was founded in 1974, is headquartered in Anaconda and now provides community-based support to all 56 counties for individuals with mental health and/or developmental disabilities.
WMMHC has an office in Kalispell and operates the Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) and the Projects for Assistance in Transitions from Homelessness (PATH) program. PACT helps people with serious mental health conditions live independently in the community by providing comprehensive mental health and supportive services. PATH supports individuals with a severe disabling mental illness or substance use disorder who are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of becoming homeless.
“AWARE and WMMHC have been working together for years, and as the need for behavioral health care continues to increase, we realized that we would be stronger together and increase access across the state,” said Bob Lopp, CEO of WMMHC. “This will also make us a more financially stable organization that can weather the changes in health care.”
The official merger will take a few months to complete, and the new organization will operate under the AWARE name. Matt Bugni will continue as CEO, while Bob Lopp, the current CEO of Western Montana Mental Health Center, will be Chief Business Strategy Officer at AWARE. The new, expanded AWARE will employ 1200 individuals and serve 12,000 clients across all 56 counties. Both organizations’ existing physical locations will remain operational.
“Both organizations are working incredibly hard to ensure a smooth transition,” said Bugni. “All staff of WMMHC will have a very similar job at AWARE, and clients and families will see few, if any, changes to their care team and where they get support.”
To learn more visit: www.aware-inc.org. or go to www.wmmhc.org.
