OPEN MINDS Hosts Executive Roundtable On ‘Step-Down’ Innovations For Transitioning Consumers From Residential Care To The Community
Gettysburg, PA., May 26, 2026—OPEN MINDS will host an executive roundtable, Transforming Adolescent Residential Services: The New Hope Case Study, on June 1, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The session will feature Matt Simon, Chief Operating Officer; Xavier Dunbar, North Carolina State Director; and Shannon Bragg, West Virginia State Director of New Hope Treatment Centers.
Provider organizations operating psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) face two persistent challenges. First, a lot of the daily rate is allocated to overhead, and second, many programs default to a “boarding” model, where safety takes precedence over therapeutic care.
The session will include a deep dive into its Bridge Program, which embeds mental health staff in the homes of youth and families for up to 90 days post-discharge, supporting successful transition back to the community. The speakers will outline how they have expanded this approach to three new states (North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia) in the past three years through a unique form of residential care and how it has allowed them to keep more consumers in the community while dedicating more of the daily rate to increased staff ratios, direct care pay, and direct care quality.
“Executives are under pressure to expand access and improve outcomes for high-acuity youth services without simply adding more beds,” said Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS. “A potentially better approach is to shift traditional residential services to be shorter term and community-integrated. The key will be to find a model that works.”
Attendees will gain insight into how to dismantle the “boarding” mentality to focus on high-acuity, short-term community-integrated services, and how to develop robust “step-down” innovations that ensure the transition from residential care is a bridge to the community.
This executive roundtable is part of the ongoing OPEN MINDS series designed to provide senior leaders with practical, case-based strategies for operational excellence and sustainable growth.
Registration information is available at: Transforming Adolescent Residential Services: The New Hope Case Study
About New Hope Treatment Centers
New Hope is a physician-founded, 150-bed psychiatric residential treatment provider organization, operating with multiple state Medicaid contracts and serving youth ages 12-21 with a variety of behavioral and mental health challenges. It serves an estimated 400 youth annually and employs an estimated 500 employees across three locations, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
About OPEN MINDS
OPEN MINDS is a national market intelligence, management consulting, and marketing services firm specializing exclusively in the markets of the health and human service field that serve consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs. The OPEN MINDS mission is to provide payers, service provider organizations, and technology and scientific firms that serve these consumers with the market and management knowledge needed to improve their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Learn more at https://www.openminds.com.