Patients at Red Oak Counseling are scrambling to find new mental health care after receiving letters announcing the clinic's abrupt closure with less than a month's notice."I was shocked," said Katie Bloom, a Red Oak patient. "I wasn't expecting this closure whatsoever."The Optum-owned clinic is set to close February 25. Patients received generic letters in the mail with minimal information about treatment plan transfers or continuity of care and no information on why the clinic is closing.An Optum spokesperson sent us this statement Wednesday:We remain deeply committed to delivering high-quality, affordable care to the patients and communities we serve. As part of our commitment to making health care more affordable, we regularly review our services to ensure they meet the evolving needs or our business and the people we serve. Our priority is to support patients through this transition and ensure they continue receiving the care they need. Certain clinical staff will remain on site through the end of March to allow ample time to transition care and manage prescriptions while an alternate provider is found."It's less than a month away and there's no it's just kind of a careless, generic letter with no thought of any treatment plan of care transfer nothing," Bloom said.After news of the closure broke, several mental health care providers reached out to TMJ4 News offering to help displaced patients navigate the transition."It's amazing. It's one of the reasons I love living in this city because the people in it are so generous," Bloom reacted. The closure highlights ongoing challenges in the mental health care system, where high demand for services meets limited supply."The really good providers are hard to get in to, so having a wait list, those are all additional concerns," Bloom said.Gina Brindowski, owner of South Shore Counseling, said she's witnessed similar closures across the industry. "We have watched this happen across our industry," Brindowski said. "As smaller clinics are purchased by large, kind of more conglomerate places like Lifestance and Optum, they can sometimes put out the little guy or the smaller clinic."Brindowski has owned and operated South Shore Counseling for 12 years, with clinics in Menomonee Falls and Franklin offering therapy services, medicine management and neuropsych testing."The access has to be there it's something I say all the time in our clinic, that is whenever a hand is reached out and asking for help, that hand needs to be grabbed," Brindowski said.Multiple mental health care providers have reached out to assist Red Oak patients in finding new care options."The fact that that many people called in and offered their assistance and resources I think is wonderful," Bloom said.Here's a list of all providers who reached out to TMJ4 News that are offering mental health services:1. American Behavioral Clinics 414-877-45792. Ellie Mental Health in Hales Corners 414-296-17303. Ellie Mental Health in Waukesha 414-667-58094. New Prospects Counseling Services 414-291-94875. South Shore Counseling 414-502-77806. Edelica Health 414-206-1606"This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less