Tribe celebrates opening of new residential treatment center

 

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

A longtime goal of the Tribe was accomplished on Monday, Feb. 24, when Great Circle Recovery held an open house to celebrate the opening of its new residential drug and alcohol addiction treatment center, Main Street Recovery House, in Sheridan.

“I know that this has been a long time coming,” Tribal General Manager Angie Blackwell said. “I’m just really happy we can have a place close to home, and not have our people waiting for a bed.”

Located in a former bed-and-breakfast, the house features 18 bedrooms for intensive in-patient treatment. A small hotel located behind the main house holds another 13 beds intended for transitional housing once residents are recovered enough to live more independently, while still undergoing outpatient treatment and receiving mental health services.

Best of all, Health Services Executive Director Kelly Rowe said, treatment at the center will not be limited by insurance restrictions. Instead, people will be able to stay as long as needed. Although insurance services will be billed for service, Tribal members will not be required to leave if they are not sufficiently recovered when the insurance payments stop.

“Until you’re well,” Rowe said. “The stay is as long as it takes. … it’s more of a wellness philosophy. We don’t know anyone else who has that philosophy.”

Inpatient treatment beds are in short supply in Oregon.

“This is really such a culmination of so many dreams for us,” Rowe said. “We have fought so many times for a bed for our members. This gives us the ability to know we have a placement and it’s local, and it’s our own programming.”

Phase two of the project, she said, includes building a sports court for games like basketball and pickleball, and constructing a sweat lodge.

Acquisition and renovation of the building took more than a year. The work included opening up rooms and repainting to make the space light, airy and welcoming. During the renovation, Rowe said, workers discovered that an arched doorway separating what is now a large living room from a smaller parlor had been covered over. “It was all blocked off, and they had, like, flowery wallpaper over it,” she said. “So, our first thing was, ‘Let’s open this up, to make it lighter, and welcoming.’ Our whole thing has been, make it lighter. … it was very dark, and just not welcoming. We wanted to make it so when somebody walks in, they feel good. When somebody says ‘Ok, I’m ready for help,’ you don’t want them to walk into a place that’s doom and gloom. You’re already not feeling good.”

The doorway now features a graceful set of French doors that can be left open to provide a larger gathering area, or closed to allow more privacy.

A formal dining room holds a long table for family-style dining, while a cozy breakfast nook in the kitchen allows for smaller gatherings.

The house will serve both men and women. Visiting hours will be by appointment, Great Circle Recovery Operations Director Jennifer Worth said.

Once members move from the treatment center into the transitional apartments, the next step is having intensive outpatient services, including mental health services.

During inpatient care, services are intended to help people get stabilized. Once that has been accomplished, Rowe said, it’s time to delve into “why somebody has fallen into that use of illicit substances.”

The Tribe has previously opened Great Circle Recovery programs in Salem and Portland, with a mobile van that delivers services to the Tribal campus, as well as transitional houses for people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The new center is intended to fill in some of the gaps between those services.

“This whole continuum of care that we’re building, it makes my heart full,” Rowe said. “It’s an amazing thing to have the support of Tribal Council, have them support this whole program for our membership. They will be saving lives for our membership.”

Joey Nicolas, a Great Circle employee who will work as primary nurse for the new center, said he’s excited to be part of the new program.

“I’ve worked in long-term care and Tribal nursing, and just the idea of helping people get off the drugs and on their feet is very rewarding,” he said.