Common Ground CEO warns staff disruption and unpaid invoices as OCHN takeover looms
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Summary
Common Ground CEO told commissioners that Oakland Community Health Network's takeover of two crisis programs (about 40% of Common Ground's contract) is slated for Feb. 13 and, she said, meets WARN Act thresholds affecting roughly 155 staff; she reported staff departures and delayed payments tied to the transition.
Heather Wright, CEO of Common Ground, told the Oakland County Board on Jan. 22 that negotiations with the Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN) over a takeover of two Common Ground programs have been fraught and that the OCHN's planned Feb. 13 takeover would materially affect Common Ground’s workforce and services.
Wright said the two programs OCHN plans to acquire constitute roughly 40% of Common Ground’s contract at the county’s Resource and Crisis Center. She said the takeover date, which OCHN set, triggered WARN Act considerations because the scale of staff affected met the notice threshold — she described the number as approximately 155 employees requiring a 60‑day notice for layoffs. Wright said the posting of positions by OCHN created anxiety that led to staff departures and that Common Ground had not received its scheduled January payment and likely would not be paid for February.
Wright said Common Ground requested a mediator to help negotiate the transition but that OCHN declined the request, and she described the organization as “sad to be leaving” the Resource and Crisis Center while noting concerns about continuity of crisis services and staff welfare.
The chair and commissioners heard the report during the second public comment period; no board action was taken at the Jan. 22 meeting on the takeover during that item.
Next steps: Wright urged county oversight and attention to staff continuity and payments; commissioners did not announce an immediate formal response in the meeting record.
