New Hanover County will expand its options for substance abuse treatment by funding a new treatment center that’s designed to keep addicts from going to jail or the emergency room.
The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday, Jan. 19 to approve nearly $1 million to fund three years of treatment space at a new facility construction proposed by Trillium Health Resources, which manages mental health, substance use and intellectual and developmental disability services in a 24-county area in eastern North Carolina.
The Healing Transitions facility in New Hanover County will be similar to one that Trillium has operated for 15 years in Wake County, Trillium CEO Leza Wainwright said. It will provide 200 beds for treatment, and by devoting $319,000 a year over the next three, the county will have access to 25 of those beds.
County manager Chris Coudriet said an analysis of the budget showed that reserving at least 25 beds would help slow the jail population, benefiting more than just the 25 individuals being treated. At $35 a day, the beds at Healing Transitions are less than the $80 it costs to maintain an inmate in the jail.
“We have seen over and over the benefit of these kinds of investment,” board of commissioners chair Beth Dawson said. “The return of investment is one of the most impactful on this county, in terms of the quality of life, and the safety and reduction of crime.”
Wainwright said the facility will be built on property in the county owned by Trillium and would be completed in late 2017 or early 2018.
Trillium’s New Hanover County offices are on Shipyard Blvd. between the bowling alley and Independence Drive.
Wainwright said the organization raised the money to fund the $9 million through savings from Medicaid payments. The local Healing Transitions facility will serve patients from 23 counties, its CEO said, adding that the local region is expected to contribute to most of the facility’s population.
Beth Schrader, chief strategy and budget officer for the county, said the cost of constructing a new jail would be at least $2.4 million-a-year in new debt service, saving the county that money for each year they can forgo the project.
“This project would address some of the factors over representation of those with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders in our jails today,” Schrader told the commissioners.
Healing Transitions CEO Dennis Parnell said the facility is aimed at people that can’t afford treatment and serves as more of a jail diversion program, serving other needs that save Wake County at least $20 million a year in services.
“We’re saving money in different places, in the sheriff’s office and police department, in child support enforcement and transportation to the hospital,” Parnell said. “The invisible factors.”
Parnell said one of those factors is the reduction in emergency room visits, which are particularly valuable for a hospital to reduce due to health care laws.
The commitment from the county brings in some funding for the Healing Transitions facility, but it will need to raise more to operate, which brought some questions from commissioner Woody White. With savings coming from emergency room visits, White asked if New Hanover Regional Medical Center would also fund the facility.
Wainwright said that the organization was in discussions with NHRMC about funding and that she wanted to get a commitment from the county before discussing specifics with the hospital.
“The hospital staff is aware and are supportive of the facility and they understand we’ll talk about some dollars at some point,” she said.
The county also devoted $84,000 in funding for interim treatment programs at Coastal Horizons Center and Linc.
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