The partnership will increase access to behavioral health services for individuals in New Jersey and boost access to services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.

 

 

 

Woods Services, Inc. and Woods Resources, Inc. (Woods System of Care) and Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services (Bridgeway) are pleased to announce their intent to affiliate. The proposed affiliation has been approved by the organizations’ boards and is subject to approval by New Jersey regulatory agencies. When approved, Woods System of Care will employ 6,500 people and serve close to 27,000 individuals.

 

The Woods System of Care is headquartered in Langhorne, Pa., with 10 affiliates and joint ventures in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that provide lifetime integrated services for more than 22,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, and /or mental health challenges who may also have complex medical and genetic conditions. Services include mental and physical healthcare, education, housing and residential treatment, and workforce development.

 

Bridgeway, headquartered in Union, New Jersey, serves more than 4,000 people each year in crisis intervention programs and psychiatric screening in 10 counties in northern New Jersey.

 

Upon approval of the affiliation, Bridgeway will join Woods’ three other New Jersey affiliates —  Legacy Treatment Services, Allies, Inc., and Archway Programs — in plans to enhance and expand behavioral health services in northern New Jersey, adding to the coverage Legacy provides in central and southern New Jersey.

 

“Woods and Bridgeway have explored an affiliation over the past several years. We are pleased today to announce that with the approval of our boards, we are a step closer to partnering to expand programs significantly over the coming years to serve individuals with behavioral healthcare needs in New Jersey,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, president & CEO, Woods Services, Woods Resources, and Woods System of Care.

 

“Bridgeway’s collaboration enables us to work together to serve even more individuals who seek behavioral healthcare services,” added Cory Storch, president and CEO of Bridgeway.

 

Through this affiliation, the organizations will be able to serve thousands of additional people. It will allow both organizations to create new programs and expand existing ones. Bridgeway will benefit from the back-office and shared services capacity of Woods System of Care as well as Woods’ strategic, operational, legal, and programmatic guidance. Woods, in turn, will expand its footprint across all of New Jersey, grow its behavioral health and IDD/A programs, and gain expertise from Bridgeway’s staff and leadership.

 

“The skills and expertise of Bridgeway’s leadership complement Woods’ leadership, which will greatly enhance the capacity of the system as a whole,” said Bridgeway’s board chairperson and treasurer, Joseph Perez. There is enormous potential for growth.

 

“Our organizations and organizational cultures are aligned, which strengthens our ability to provide much-needed, person-centered care to an underserved population,” said Barry Sharer, Woods Services board chair.

 

The organizations anticipate receiving regulatory approval within the next several months and will quickly formalize the affiliation afterward.