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Matt Sepic
St. Paul, Minn.

Hundreds still looking for mental health services after clinic closings

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County health officials in east central Minnesota are still working to find mental health services for hundreds of people after a major provider closed last week.

Riverwood Centers Community Behavioral Healthcare, a nonprofit that operated in five counties, shut down abruptly last week because of financial problems. The nonprofit operated in five counties in east-central Minnesota.

• More: Mental health centers abruptly shut in east central Minn.

Pine County Health and Human Services Director Patrick Bruflat said the county is referring former Riverwood clients to other providers in the area, at least in the short term.

"Our other objective is also to develop longer term provider relationships that can provide a more extensive array of services," he said.

Bruflat said Riverwood's closing may mean longer travel times for patients.

In Chisago County, administrator Bruce Messelt said the county has provided office space to two former Riverwood psychiatrists who have been working under a state contract.

"We did contact other nonprofits or for-profits that provide mental health services," he said. "We're providing some meeting space for group therapy sessions, things like that. And obviously we're putting into place new contracts for the services that we paid Riverwood to do."