Wedge Recovery Centers, a major addiction treatment provider, will close within the month

The Wedge Recovery Centers, a major provider of addiction treatment in the Philadelphia area, is closing in the next two to four weeks, city officials confirmed.

The for-profit company offers intensive outpatient addiction treatment, mental health services, and medications for opioid addiction. It operates eight locations across the city that serve about 1,900 patients. Nearly all of those patients receive health coverage through Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance for low-income people.

The program also frequently accepts patients mandated by Philadelphia courts to undergo addiction treatment.

In a Monday letter addressed to “vendors and partners” who work with the Wedge, CEO Jason McLaughlin said the company has incurred financial losses for the last three years. He cited as factors in its closure decision increased overhead costs, fewer patients enrolling in Medicaid, and a “lack of ability or interest” from local and state government to offer the Wedge financial support.

McLaughlin did not return a call for comment. His letter was circulated widely on social media and shared with The Inquirer.

The Wedge’s closure plans were confirmed by officials at Community Behavioral Health, the city-contracted nonprofit that coordinates benefits for behavioral health services, including addiction treatment, for Medicaid recipients.

Other addiction treatment providers in the city have the capacity to take over the care of the Wedge’s patients, according to CBH, which will work with the Wedge as it winds down operations.

CBH officials said the Wedge has not shared specifics on their financial outlook, noting that they have seen other healthcare service providers struggle financially, in part because of declining Medicaid enrollment.

“Wedge has been an excellent partner, and this certainly hurts,” CBH COO Andrew DeVos said.

Wedge officials told DeVos they’re committed to ensuring patients continue to receive addiction medications like buprenorphine, an opioid-based medication that curbs cravings and withdrawal symptoms, as they transfer to other providers.

He said the Wedge has already been reaching out to other treatment providers in the area and is specifically aiming to help relocate patients to clinics near the closing Wedge locations.

Some healthcare providers have raised concerns that some Wedge clinics, like its South Philadelphia office on Broad Street, are relatively isolated from other healthcare providers that offer the same level of care.

CBH officials would not name the organizations that will take on former Wedge patients.

Keisha Hudson, the chief defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which represents people who cannot afford a lawyer in court, said that her office will also monitor the transition for patients in court-ordered treatment.

“We want to make sure they’re getting the same level of care from whatever entity [they end up at]. I’ve been told [CBH] will make sure no one falls through the cracks,” she said. “It’s up to me and my 29 social workers for the entire adult population to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Responding to the closure, District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement that addiction recovery resources are “essential to public safety and to the survival and rehabilitation of people suffering from the disease of addiction.”

Healthcare providers who work with people in addiction said that it’s crucial for the Wedge and CBH to ensure a smooth transition for patients.

A large-scale program like the Wedge closing puts strain on other addiction treatment programs, said Shoshi Aronowitz, a family medicine nurse practitioner and nursing professor at the University of Pennsylvania who treats people with addiction.

“It’s expected among other programs that are already stretched thin that there will potentially be a surge of patient inquiries,” she said.

Even with adequate space in the system, transitioning to a new healthcare provider can be challenging for people with substance use disorder, said Maggie Lowenstein, an addiction medicine physician at Penn.

“There’s a lot of logistics and transitions involved, and any type of care transition is a time when we see patients fall out of care,” she said.

Lowenstein helps run a telehealth program at Penn that helps patients navigate clinic closures and ensures they receive buprenorphine prescriptions. The program is ready to help Wedge patients.

Aronowitz said she was particularly worried about patients who were already having trouble getting to appointments or staying in addiction treatment.

“We know programs close — it happens," she said. “But it’s unfortunately another opportunity for people who are already struggling to engage in care to get lost to care.”

Staff writers Chris Palmer and Samantha Melamed contributed to this article.