PORTLAND, Ore. -- A timely loan will allow Oregon's largest mental health care provider to continue operating until at least midsummer.

State and Multnomah County officials agreed this week to lend up to $2.5 million to keep Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare open for two months.

County Chairman Ted Wheeler said the loans -- $1.5 million from the county and $1 million from the state Department of Human Services -- prevented the nonprofit company from having to shut by the end of the week. Such an abrupt closure, he said, would have put people at risk of homelessness and, perhaps, death.

He said the loan buys time for a "thoughtful transition of services."

Cascadia provides treatment, housing and emergency services to more than 20,000 people statewide and operates 90 facilities in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Lane and Marion counties.

In recent months, it got rid of its entire executive team, cut upper management ranks by 40 percent and staff by 20 percent to improve its financial situation.

Last week, Capital Pacific Bank took most of Cascadia's available cash to pay off an outstanding debt.

The state and county agreed to speed up $1.5 million in payments owed to Cascadia so it could pay its 1,000 employees. But that didn't help Cascadia catch up on lease and mortgage payments, and vendors started demanding cash payments upfront for all transactions,

Dr. Derald Walker, Cascadia's new CEO, praised the county and state for providing the money, but added that the company's future is still very cloudy.

"It takes us out of the imminent financial crisis, but no one in their right mind would say it takes us out of crisis," Walker said.