Rosecrance To Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Services In Champaign

A new center for substance abuse treatment is slated to open in Champaign this December. The Center for Recovery, located at 2302 Moreland Blvd., will be operated by Rosecrance, a mental health and substance abuse treatment system with facilities across the state.

The new facility will expand on services offered at Rosecrance’s current Champaign location, where there are 24 residential treatment beds with an average wait time of two weeks, said Chris Gleason, executive director of Rosecrance Central Illinois.

“I don’t want anyone to have to wait that long,” Gleason said. “When someone in addiction is ready to change, they’re not ready to change in two weeks, they’re ready to change now, and we want to try to accommodate that as best as possible.”

The new facility will have 32 beds, and an additional 12-bed recovery home for clients transitioning to independent living.

“The recovery home is really designed to improve on life skills, get them employed, get them working on how to balance money, balance work in a safe environment,” Gleason said. These life skills can help increase the likelihood of long-term success after treatment has ended.

The facility will also offer medical detox services for patients preparing to enter residential treatment.

Gleason said detox services are not currently available at the location at 122 W. Hill St. because it isn’t equipped to provide 24-hour nursing care.

Medical detox services will ensure patients don’t have to rely on the emergency room, or travel outside the Champaign-Urbana area, to receive medical support as they withdraw from drugs or alcohol prior to entering residential treatment, Gleason said.

The facility will also allow for more programming for family members of people going through addiction treatment.

Family programs includes education on the disease of addiction, and how to support someone as they transition back home.

In a news release, Rosecrance CEO and President Phil Eaton said addiction does not discriminate — and central Illinois families have been “intensely affected.”

According to Rosecrance, 58 people died of drug overdose in 2017 in the immediate 7-county region of Champaign, Ford, Vermillion, Edgar, Douglas, Piatt and DeWitt counties, which represents a 35 percent increase in drug overdose deaths in the past 5 years.

If you or someone you know needs help, the National Helpline for substance abuse and mental health is 1-800-662-HELP.

Follow Christine on Twitter: @CTHerman