About Merakey

Merakey, formerly known as NHS, is a leading developmental, behavioral health, and education non-profit provider offering a breadth of integrated services to individuals and communities across the country. We leverage our size and expertise to develop innovative solutions and new models of care to meet the needs of individuals, their families, public and private healthcare funders and community partner organizations.

Our new name, Merakey, is inspired by a modern Greek word, meaning to put something of yourself into your work, or to do something with soul, creativity or love. This concept illustrates the compassion and integrity that underscores everything we do. The inclusion of the word “key” in the name also positions the organization as a key to helping individuals and communities open doors to their future. Our new logo includes an interlocking heart that makes up our four primary services: PURPLE represents Behavioral Health; GREEN represents Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; CYAN represents Education and Autism, and BLUE represents Administration.

Check out our rebranding video and read more on www.merakey.org.

Message from Joe Martz, CEO

At Merakey, we put our heart and soul into exceptional care and service.” Our new name and motto perfectly describes the passion that Merakey employees place in the work we perform and individuals we are so fortunate to serve. I cannot think of a more appropriate way to represent who we are and what we do. The Merakey name was inspired by our employees. It represents the remarkable commitment we make to our consumers and our colleagues every single day.

When we rebranded the organization on April 1, 2018, Merakey employees collectively embarked on a journey to establish ourselves as one company, with one identity and one culture. We committed to be a company that always focused on our mission, vision, and core values. As ambassadors of our company, I challenged every employee to take pride in our new name and all that it represents. They rose to the challenge and demonstrated their support for our new brand by sharing hundreds of pictures and stories from across the organization (Click here to view our employees celebrating the rebrand). The rebranding and unification of our culture has been enormously successful. Our employees can now clearly articulate who we are and how we differentiate Merakey’s quality of care from other providers in our industry. This differentiation will help us achieve our strategic goal of innovating and diversifying our services. In the last twelve months, we expanded our geographic footprint into the states of Tennessee, Texas, and California. We also initiated new service offerings in states in which we are already well established.

Earlier this year, Merakey Behavioral Health implemented Long Term Support Services in Nashville, Tennessee providing care and companionship to individuals and families. This new service allows individuals to remain in their own homes rather than go to a hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility when they need additional support. In Fort Worth, Texas, our Education and Autism Team is busy planning to open our newest Merakey Autism Center on January 2, 2019. And, in California, Merakey Behavioral Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services are partnering to provide Intensive Transition Services in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego counties to individuals who are dually diagnosed. As with the programs we provide in Pennsylvania, individuals diagnosed with a developmental disability and mental illness will receive person-centered, recovery oriented, and holistic support. We are excited by all the opportunities that the rebrand has created, as they are furthering our efforts to meet our 2020 strategic goals.

This year also brought new leadership to our Operational programs with the appointment of Ted Dallas as President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Merakey, Ted was Special Advisor to the Governor and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Human Services. His wealth of governmental, human services and private sector experience and knowledge has been instrumental in overseeing operations, collaborating with divisional leadership to achieve our strategic objectives and providing specific focus on improving the quality of our service offerings. Ted has been a tremendous support to Operations, to the Executive Team, and to me. In addition to the incredible dedication displayed by our workforce, I also want to acknowledge the generous support from our contributors, our Boards of Directors, our families, and our friends. Whether you donated financially or volunteered your time at one of our programs or events, your enthusiasm for what we do does not go unrecognized. Please know that my colleagues and I are eternally grateful.

As this year begins to wind down, my colleagues and I are starting to plan a very important celebration; Merakey’s 50th Anniversary in 2019. Since opening our doors in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia in 1969, Merakey (originally called The Northwest Center) has been committed to providing exceptional service to the individuals and families entrusted to our care. And, even though we have had several name changes over the last five decades, that commitment is as strong today as it was on our very first day nearly 50 years ago. We look forward to sharing with you the celebration of Merakey’s 50th year of service on our website and on social media!

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely, Joe