Hopebridge Continues to Ramp Up Growth, Plans to Add 40 New Clinics in 2022

After a busy 2021 opening new facilities, Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers has big plans on the service front as well for this year.

Indianapolis-based Hopebridge, which is one of the nation’s largest providers of autism care services, announced Wednesday that it is planning to open up to 40 new clinics nationwide in 2022. The expansion of Hopebridege’s footprint is being spurred significantly by its acquisition of Little Rock, Arkansas-based Autism In Motion Clinics (AIM).

Backed by private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners, Hopebridge provides services to children with autism spectrum disorder and a variety of emotional challenges. Those services include applied behavioral analysis (ABA) – which is considered a gold standard of autism care – as well as occupation, speech and feeding therapies.

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Hopebridge operates over 100 locations in 12 states. In announcing its expansion plans, the provider cited the rising rates of autism diagnoses, which currently stands at 1 in 44 nationwide according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“In order to give these children the best possible care during their key developmental years, Hopebridge is bringing passionate, qualified behavioral health clinicians even closer to home for many of these families who require more support,” Hopebridge CEO Dennis May said in a press release.

As part of the expansion, Hopebridge is planning to hire up to 4,000 new employees this year. The hires – according to the provider – include 400 board certified behavioral analysts, 3,500 registered behavior technicians, as well as up to 100 clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and other industry professionals.

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Hopebridge’s employees are able to receive additional training through research partnerships the provider currently has with higher education institutions including Vanderbilt University, the Florida Institute of Technology and Arizona State University.

Hopebridge also has a research partnership with the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement.

“The ‘Great Resignation’ has influenced career paths for many, however Hopebridge has allowed our teammates the chance to create new, fulfilling careers,” Hopebridge Chief Human Resource Officer Leigh Crick said in the press release. “Our employees are able to advance along their career paths both vertically and laterally through on-the-job-training, continuing education and collaboration with other disciplines, in addition to new job opportunities that are unique to Hopebridge. We’re looking for passionate individuals that want to make a difference in a child’s life.”

AIM provides ABA services at clinics in Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Hopebridge previously said that it would consider growing by acquiring other providers.

“Our mission is to continue to bring access for families impacted by autism across the country,” Hopebridge Vice President of Business Development Chris Sutton told Behavioral Health Business last year. “This need is great and these families deserve quality care to be convenient for them. We will continue to look at the best opportunities to bring the highest quality of care to these families.”

Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arkansas are states in AIM’s footprint that are expected to see new hires as part of Hopebridge’s expansion plans. Hopebridge also has plans to bring aboard new workers in states where it already operates, which include Indiana, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio.

The new clinics will also continue the expansion plans Hopebridge commenced in 2021 as it set its sights on opening 20 clinics during the year and hiring over 2,000 employees. Ultimately, more than 4,000 employees were hired for over 500 new jobs, according to the company.

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