Photo by Evan Bevins Bob Ashley, left, legislative director for West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, speaks with Wood County Assessor David Nohe and Chief Deputy Andy Hartleben during an open house Thursday at the new St. Joseph Recovery Center at St. Joseph’s Landing in Parkersburg.

PARKERSBURG — The latest venture in the fight against the opioid epidemic may be new, but the setting is familiar.

St. Joseph Recovery Center held an open house Thursday and will begin accepting inpatients and outpatients for medication-assisted substance abuse treatment on Monday on the campus of its namesake, the former St. Joseph’s Hospital in Parkersburg.

Now known as St. Joseph Landing, the property “has been influential; it has been important; it has been part of the community,” building manager Jon Defibaugh said during a ceremony in the courtyard. “It is poised to do a wonderful thing for opioid treatment in this area.”

The for-profit operation occupies two floors in the campus’ Building C, just off 19th Street, and employs more than 30 people. It has 32 patient beds, with that number expected to double as early as June when the third-floor space is completed, said Donna Meadows, CEO of St. Joseph Recovery Center.

“Our goal is to provide a secure, safe and comfortable environment where our clients can focus on healing physically, mentally and spiritually,” she said.

Photo by Evan Bevins Employees of St. Joseph Recovery Center and guests gather Thursday in the courtyard at the former St. Joseph’s Hospital during an open house event introducing the new venture to community members.

The center accepts Medicaid and is in the process of getting credentialed for other insurance programs, Meadows said. Male and female patients can be referred by a health care provider or check in themselves for an initial period of 30 days.

“That can be increased in length with medical necessity,” Meadows said.

Grouped by gender and severity of their illness, patients will be assigned two to a room and undergo therapy during the day, with a peer support component as well, said Jordan Granus, program director.

“They’re doing something from 6:30 in the morning ’til later in the evening,” she said.

As a medication-assisted program, the center will utilize pharmaceuticals such as Suboxone and Vivitrol to help treat substance abuse disorder by decreasing cravings and repairing neural pathways damaged by opioid abuse, Granus said.

Photo by Evan Bevins A common-area lounge is shown at St. Joseph Recovery Center Thursday.

The venture was made possible with a $3 million grant from the Ryan Brown Addiction and Prevention Recovery Fund, established by the West Virginia Legislature in 2017 from a bill originally introduced by Delegate John Kelly, R-Wood.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Kelly, who attended Thursday’s open house and started working on the legislation in 2016. “The fact is, today we have probably one of the nicest, if not the nicest, drug treatment programs in the state of West Virginia. It’s a tremendous asset for the community.”

The money for the program came in part from a prescription drug lawsuit settlement secured by the West Virginia Attorney General’s office. There is no geographical limit on areas from which patients can come, except that preference is given to Mountain State residents.

Christina Mullins, commissioner of the Bureau for Behavioral Health under the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, said the new center helps address the previous lack of treatment beds in the state for substance abuse in general and opioid abuse in particular.

“The fact that … people can stay here for the time they need to recover is huge,” she said.

Photo by Evan Bevins West Virginia Delegate John Kelly, R-Wood, left, speaks with St. Joseph Recovery Center Program Director Jordan Granus, center, and CEO Donna Meadows about the long-term, medication-assisted substance abuse treatment program in a patient room Thursday during an open house at the facility at St. Joseph’s Landing.

Gov. Jim Justice was represented at Thursday’s event by Legislative Director Bob Ashley, a former Roane County delegate and state senator for the area.

“The governor really wants to get a handle on this problem. He really feels that these treatment centers are part of the answer,” Ashley said. “We will be watching the results. I’m looking forward to it.”

Photo by Evan Bevins A sign at the St. Joseph Recovery Center.