SARANAC LAKE - While most state-funded organizations are struggling to cut costs and absorb the cuts proposed in the governor's 2009-10 budget, St. Joseph's Rehabilitation Center has fared comparatively well.
St. Joseph's has had three projects in the planning stages: building a veterans' treatment facility, cooperating with Camp Gabriels prison to create treatment programs for inmates, and cooperating with Adirondack Medical Center to develop a detoxification center on site to create more jobs and increase the value of the facility. All of these have at least a glimmer of state funding hope, although plans are not yet worked out.
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Veterans' treatment facility
Earlier in the year, St. Joseph's was awarded a multi-million-dollar grant to construct a 25-bed treatment facility to help Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans dealing with addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, but it was questionable whether those funds would actually be released by the state.
Although vague, it now seems St. Joseph's is well positioned to receive the funds.
A packet developed by the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services that highlights budgetary items that will affect its recipients says the state will "continue the development of over 295 community beds for high priority populations including adolescents, women with children and veterans."
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Cooperation with Camp Gabriels
According to OASAS, the proposed budget adds $4 million to support statewide diversion programs intended to redirect criminal offenders into chemical dependence treatment instead of more costly prison sentences. These projects will be done in collaboration with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.
The budget would also redirect $2 million from the Department of Parole to OASAS to partially offset their elimination of funding for relapse prevention service to parolees in outpatient and residential programs.
The money will be awarded through a competitive process, which could be difficult for St. Joseph's since the proposed budget calls for the closing of Camp Gabriels.
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Detoxification
The OASAS packet stated that new funding of $6 million is available from the state Department of Health during the coming budget year to increase community-based fees for medically supervised outpatient detoxification services.
This money could help St. Joseph's develop a detoxification center for the treatment facility for patients that would now be treated in the emergency rooms at Adirondack Medical Center. St. Joseph's CEO Bob Ross has said his center would treat detox patients in a more cost-effective manner than a hospital, and these patients would then have direct access to St. Joseph's long-term rehabilitation services.
"If someone comes here with withdrawal for alcohol or narcotics, obviously we need to treat that as a medical emergency," AMC spokesman Joe Riccio said. "But as far as a comprehensive program, which is what they really need and St. Joseph's is looking to offer, it would certainly be a service to the community."
Ross, who was in Albany on Tuesday to discuss the proposed OASAS budget and his facility's potential for project funding, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
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Contact Emily Hunkler at (518) 891-2600 ext. 24 or ehunkler@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
