Primary Health Solutions, a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), has announced its plans to acquire nonprofit provider South Community Behavioral Health.
The transaction, which is set to close in July, appears to be Primary Health Solution’s first behavioral health-specific acquisition. Public documents show that together, the organizations’ combined revenue could top $65.1 million annually.
After the deal closes, Dayton, Ohio-based South Community Behavioral Health will become part of Hamilton, Ohio-based Primary Health Solutions. Current leaders at the behavioral health organization will retain their roles “to support continuity and stability during the transition,” a spokesperson for Primary Health Solutions told Behavioral Health Business. The company also confirmed that no layoffs are planned as part of the transition. Its workforce of more than 300 employees will become part of Primary Health Solutions and continue in their roles.
“This transition strengthens the long-term stability of SCBH services and supports continued access to care for the patients and communities SCBH serves,” a Primary Health Solutions’ spokesperson said. “By becoming part of PHS, SCBH’s patients who are eligible may benefit from PHS’s status as an FQHC. As an FQHC, PHS is able to expand access, reduce financial barriers and invest in coordinated, whole-person care. This helps ensure that services remain available, accessible and focused on the needs of the community — both now and in the future.”
Primary Health Solutions was founded in 2001 and is a comprehensive provider of medical, dental, behavioral and specialty care across Ohio’s southwestern region. As an FQHC-led acquisition, this means the behavioral health services from South Community Behavioral Health will be structurally integrated into Primary Health Solutions’ primary care, safety-net system.
“By bringing behavioral health, primary care and supportive services together, we are strengthening our ability to meet patients where they are and improve health outcomes across the region,” Stephen Roller, president and CEO of Primary Health Solutions, stated in a press release.
South Community Behavioral Health has been a provider of substance use disorder and mental health treatment since 1974. The company’s services — a combination of outpatient, SUD, youth services, school-based programs and employee assistance programs (EAPs) — will continue without disruption as the transaction closes.
South Community’s core behavioral health treatment models will not change, the spokesperson confirmed. The organization will strengthen its care coordination across services as it integrates with Primary Health Solutions’ broader care network.
Nonprofit behavioral health mergers are increasing in frequency but still account for a smaller share of merger and acquisition activity than private equity and strategic buyers. However, 2025 saw at least two noteworthy deals happen in this vein, with the merger of Centerstone and Brightli last summer and Rosecrance Behavioral Health’s acquisition of Ascend CHC (now Rosecrance Ascend) last fall.