Earl MedleyFortwood Center Inc.Started: 1946Service area: ChattanoogaFacilities: SixConsumers: Serves more than 2,000 adults and 1,000 children a yearStaff: 70 employeesCEO: Earl MedleyHelen Ross McNabb Center Inc.Started: 1948Service area: East TennesseeFacilities: 27Consumers: Serves more than 12,000 persons a yearStaff: 500 employeesCEO: Andy Black
Tennessee’s oldest mental health center is being acquired by the state’s second oldest provider of mental health services and the biggest such provider in East Tennessee.
Pending state approval, the 66-year-old Fortwood Center Inc. in Chattanooga will combine with the 64-year-old Helen Ross McNabb Center Inc. in Knoxville.
The new owners say they plan to keep the staff, facilities and patients of Fortwood. But under McNabb’s ownership, Fortwood should gain a wider base for fundraising, training and services.
“We are similar in our service, organization and delivery,” said Fortwood CEO Earl Medley, who is nearing retirement after heading the nonprofit mental health agency for a quarter century. “We also share the same mission which will allow a smooth transition for the more than 1,000 children and 2,000 adults served annually by Fortwood.”