GCASA's employees productive and efficient in comparison

Coordinated Care Services Inc, a nonprofit management services organization in Rochester, NY, recently reviewed GCASA's financials and compared GCASA to 10 other substance abuse agencies in the Rochester area, 6 of which were stand alone substance agencies and four of which were part of hospital systems. GCASA compared very favorably. Over the next few days I will be sharing some of the findings with readers of this blog.

In looking at the GCASA's treatment programs in Genesee and Orleans Counties the average cost of a unit of service delivered was $38.00 per unit in Genesee and $41.00 per unit in Orleans. the average of the 12 agencies, the other 10 plus GCASA's two clinics was $38.00 per unit. A number of agencies were spending significantly more with three agencies spending $49.00, $48.00, and $45.00 per unit.

In looking at the cost of benefits per unit GCASA was below average with $8.00 per unit while the average was $9.00 per unit. The high agencies were one at $12.00 per unit and three at $11.00 per unit.

GCASA's personnel costs both cost per unit of service and costs for benefits per unit of service are lower than most other agencies. These agencies are all nonprofits. If a similar comparison were done for State and County employees the disparities would much greater.

Is GCASA's salaries and benefits per cost of service a good thing or a bad thing? It definitely is a bad thing if you are an employee. It is a good thing if you are a funder or a client.

It terms of organizational performance, GCASA outperforms most substance abuse agencies in the region for many reasons. It has a great staff who are very productive, a great managerial team, and a great board of directors.

In terms of being accountable to the communities we serve, they couldn't be getting better services at a lower cost by any other provider.

The accusation heard from time to time that GCASA's employees are rich and only want money and that GCASA is only a Medicaid mill bilking the taxpayers out of money is not borne out by the facts. GCASA operates most effectively and efficiently and provides great returns for the money spent.

Click on charts to enlarge for easier reading.