Charter Behavioral Health Systems was an American private company that operated psychiatric treatment centers and hospitals. At one point it was the largest operator of such facilities in the US, but in 2000 it declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and sold many of its facilities to other operators. While it operated it was based in

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. History In the 1830s, ...

, and had locations in 21

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

History

The company was founded in 1979, having evolved from Charter Medical Corporation which was established in 1969. The company grew significantly during the 1980s. In 1992, Charter Medical filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to debt from a 1988 management-led buyout. After emerging from bankruptcy, the company restructured and rebranded as

Magellan Health Magellan Health Inc. (formerly Magellan Health Services Inc.), is an American for-profit managed health care company and subsidiary of Centene that's focused on special populations, complete pharmacy benefits and other specialty areas of healthc ...

Services in the mid-1990s. Charter Behavioral Health Systems became a subsidiary during this period, operating numerous psychiatric treatment centers across the United States. Its television commercials were known for ending with the line, "If you don't get help at Charter, please, get help somewhere." The company filed for bankruptcy in 2000, at that time it was 90 percent owned by ''Crescent Operating, Inc''.

Legacy

Many of its former facilities, such as

Provo Canyon School Provo Canyon School (PCS) is a psychiatric youth involuntary residential treatment center in Provo, Utah, owned and operated by Universal Health Services (UHS) since 2000. The involuntary residential program claims to use an "Acuity Bas ...

and Suncoast Behavioral Health Center, continue to operate under new ownership.

References

2000 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct health care companies of the United States Health care companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Psychiatric hospitals in the United States American companies disestablished in 2000 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000 Alpharetta, Georgia {{US-company-stub