Community Healthlink, Inc.

Community Healthlink, a Central Massachusetts behavioral health agency affiliated with UMass Memorial Health, announced plans to shut down and transition its programs to other providers. In filings with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the agency could lay off up to 701 workers beginning Sept. 16, 2026, though many caregivers are expected to move into roles with the new providers or elsewhere in UMass Memorial. The closure follows years of financial challenges; state regulators have signed off on transfer agreements with organizations including Behavioral Health Network and Clinical & Support Options. Community Healthlink said transitions are nearly complete and that some staff will still lose their jobs despite efforts to place employees with successor operators.

UMass Memorial has increased its planned workforce reduction at Community Healthlink, Inc. to 231 employees. The planned cuts are part of a reorganization announced by UMass Memorial affecting Community Healthlink operations in the Worcester area. The article reports the revised headcount of planned job eliminations but does not provide a specific calendar date for when the layoffs will take effect or detail which departments will be impacted. UMass Memorial cited organizational/operational reasons for restructuring, and the announcement represents a planned future reduction rather than completed terminations.

Community Healthlink, an affiliate of UMass Memorial Health, announced it will permanently close after more than 40 years of service, citing financial and operational challenges. The closure will result in the planned layoff of a total of 231 Community Healthlink employees, with the notice indicating those layoffs will occur by Sept. 16. Several partner organizations have finalized plans to take over Community Healthlink programs and many employees are expected to transfer to those entities, which include Behavioral Health Network, Clinical & Support Options, Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Eliot Community Human Services, Mentor South Bay and Open Sky Community Services. UMass Memorial framed the transfers as preserving specialized behavioral health services in the community while Community Healthlink as an organization winds down operations.