Coleman rebranding to better reflect health care it provides

In an effort to better reflect the care it provides, Coleman Professional Services is rebranding itself as Coleman Health Services.

"It is a confusing name because it doesn’t say what we do," Kathy Myers, director of communications and advocacy, said of the Coleman Professional Services name. "We are professional, yes, but we provide healthcare. That’s really the reason for changing it, to make our brand less confusing."

More:Coleman Professional Services names Hattie Tracy new president, CEO

Coleman Health Services Chief Executive Officer and President Nelson Burns, whose final official day was Friday, said the mission at Coleman — to improve the lives of the people it serves regardless of their ability to pay by delivering mental health, substance abuse, residential rehabilitation services — remains the same. 

"The name ‘Coleman Professional Services’ no longer represents the continuous changes in our behavioral health field,” he explained. “We now can expand our services to meet the holistic nature of healthcare; we provide more integrated health services than ever before.”

To that end, Coleman received a $4 million, 2-year grant this spring that will help it become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, which Steve Bossart, vice president of business development and marketing, said will enable Coleman to provide physical medical care in addition to its existing services. 

"Integrated health is the phrase we're using a lot, looking at the whole person," he said. "That did kind of influence our branding, as well."

For clients, Bossart said, Coleman will be able to provide medical care equivalent to that provided by a primary care physician. 

"Not only will we have a counselor or a psychiatrist available, we'll have a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner there, as well," he said. 

Myers said Coleman won't be able to "flip a switch" and be serving as a primary care office, but by February she said the services should all in place.

Not all Coleman Health Services' locations will become Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics under the $4 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Six of the nine counties with Coleman facilities — Allen, Auglaize, Hardin, Jefferson, Portage and Stark counties — will become CCBHCs.

“As a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, Coleman will provide an expanded array of services and function as a true safety-net behavioral health provider in the six designated Ohio counties,” said Hattie Tracy, the agency's new chief executive officer and president. “These counties have a combined population of 800,000 adults and children, 52,000 of whom are veterans. We expect to provide CCBHC services to 43,000 individuals over the two-year grant period.”

Bossart said the health service should help identify comorbidities in clients, which is common.

"If you're dealing with mental health issues, you're probably dealing with a lot of other issues, as well, in physical health," he said, adding that nearly 64% of Coleman's clients have at least one comorbidity in addition to whatever brought them initially to Coleman. 

Burns said the new designation will put Coleman in a special category within the state. 

“We are thrilled to be awarded this important funding,” he said. “There are only 11 CCBHCs in Ohio. This brings national attention to the work Coleman is doing and will allow us to provide more comprehensive services to the clients we are honored to serve.”

Do you have a business or healthcare story you'd like to share? Reporter Bob Gaetjens can be reached at 330-541-9440, bgaetjens@recordpub.com and @bobgaetjens_rc.