Staff Reports
Columbus Regional Health is having an open house for its new Treatment and Support Center that is offering outpatient care for those who have a substance abuse disorder.
The 5,208-square-foot facility, called the Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center, or TASC, will offer medication-assisted treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and other services for people who are struggling with substance abuse, including the abuse of alcohol, opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine and other substances.
The open house will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the facility, 2630 22nd St. The event will offer tours of the facility, a chance to meet the staff, including Medical Director Dr. Kevin Terrell, and an opportunity to learn more about programs and services. Light refreshments will be offered. Parking is available in the Columbus Regional Health employee lot at the west end of 22nd Street, hospital officials said.
Columbus Regional Health Foundation provided $2.1 million in funding to start the behavioral health clinic aimed at treating substance abuse disorders on an outpatient basis in Columbus.
The facility will contain three group rooms, each with a capacity of about 12 people, and four individual treatment rooms. It will be located in the former Southern Indiana Gastroenterology building that has been renovated. The new center is scheduled to open July 1.
The $2.1 million in funding from the foundation, which CRH officials said was the largest one-time grant the foundation has ever issued, will be used to cover costs associated with the purchase and renovation of the property, as well as start-up expenses until the center becomes financially self-sustaining.
Columbus Regional Health Physicians LLC purchased the property in March from Ottawa Holdings LLC for $600,000, according to property transfer records.
“This is a key new service that CRH has never had in its specialty practices,” Julie Abedian, vice president of corporate partnerships at CRH and Columbus Regional Health Foundation president, said in an earlier interview. “CRH has never had addiction treatment as a specialty practice before. This is new and exciting.”
CRH officials estimate that the facility will serve about 126 unique patients during the first year and increase to nearly 600 unique patients by the fifth year of operations, Cheryl Buffo, community programs lead for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, or ASAP, said in an earlier interview. Initially, the facility will have nine staff members, including a physician, licensed addiction therapist, case manager, intake coordinator, medical assistant and two peer recovery coaches, among other staff members.
Abedian said the facility will heavily focus on behavioral health and family support services. One treatment in particular that will be available at the clinic will be medication-assisted treatment, which combines medications that reduce cravings with different forms of behavioral therapy to treat substance use disorders.
The facility will only provide outpatient services and will be available to people in CRH’s service area, which includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Ripley, Scott and Shelby counties.
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What: Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center open house
When: 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: 2630 22nd St., Columbus
How much: Free
Parking: Available in the Columbus Regional Health employee log at the west end of 22nd Street.
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