SWFL mental health organization continues post-Ian comeback

The people who help other people in Southwest Florida in some of life’s most difficult situations — like mental health and substance abuse treatment — remain, to some extent, an internal crisis two years after Ian.

The organization, SalusCare, was founded in 2013 after the merger of Lee Mental Health Center and Southwest Florida Addiction Services. Its 46-bed Crisis Stabilization Unit, at 10140 Deer Run Farms Road, was flooded from the storm. Moisture rose two feet up the walls, say SalusCare officials. The facility temporarily closed after the storm. 

In February 2023, SalusCare officials decided to rebuild the Deer Run Farms Road building. It opened up again in May 2023, after a $1.3 million project.

But the closure was a post-storm wallop, for the organization and Southwest Florida. The CSU, says SalusCare, receives 500 to 600 patients a month to evaluate through the Baker Act, with an average patient census of 250 to 300 children and adults in crisis a month. Patients who would have gone to the CSU instead went to the Lee Health emergency department, Park Royal Hospital, the David Lawrence Center and Charlotte Behavioral Health Care when the facility closed. 

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While the CSU has been up-and-running for over a year, the financial side of the Ian aftermath has not totally subsided. The $1.3 million project, for one, was paid for in reserves and a new line of credit — given insurance payments were tied up in litigation.
SalusCare has been approved for a $900,000 appropriation from the state legislature for the CSU damages, but more litigation lingers with insurance companies over additional repair reimbursement, according to a SalusCare spokesperson.

Overall. SalusCare has spent more than $4 million to repair some of its facilities damaged by Hurricane Ian, the spokesperson adds, with a total property insurance reimbursement of $260,000. That $4 million (and $260,000 from insurance) includes work at its damaged Cape Coral facility, which remains closed awaiting approval of the building's repair and damages to it by FEMA. 

Another side to the post-Ian revenue hit: SalusCare lost $5 million in revenue while the CSU was closed. (SalusCare, with $29.89 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal year according to public tax filings, is funded through a variety of sources, including the Florida Department of Children and Families; Lee County Human and Veterans Services; patient fees; some insurance reimbursement; grants; fundraisers; and donations.)

The cloud of uncertainty, from insurance to repairs to the Cape Coral facility, coming against the backdrop of continuing to provide services, has taken a toll on staff and leadership of the organization, says Vice President and COO Jessica Plazewski. “It’s been extremely traumatic and frustrating,” says Plazewski. “At the end of the day what we want to do is provide these important services and we’ve been stuck in no man’s land.”