Two major Philadelphia-area providers of services to people with intellectual disabilities, Merakey and Elwyn, said Monday that they are exploring a merger that would create a nonprofit with more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
One of the key drivers behind the potential merger is the trend toward integrating physical health care with behavioral and intellectual disability services, Merakey CEO Joseph S. Martz said in a phone interview. Mark Davis, the head of a Pennsylvania trade group for human-service provider organizations like Elwyn and Merakey, said recently that a group of his members — accounting for 60% of the state’s intellectual-disability and autism services — reported a job vacancy rate of nearly 25% and an employee turnover rate of 37%.