CATAWBA, Va. – A feasibility study detailing the potential benefits of transforming Catawba Hospital into a multi-million dollar addiction recovery center has been released.
We first told you about the push to allow the state hospital to treat mental health and addiction recovery in January 2023. Del. Sam Rasoul sponsored the bill, which passed in a House of Delegate subcommittee.
“When it comes to substance use disorder and treatment, the reality is there are so many families in our region that are hurting and we need more resources,” Rasoul told 10 News Tuesday.
In the Commonwealth, there are fewer beds dedicated to substance use disorder than in 45 of 50 states, the report reveals. On a national scale, only 9% of the people needing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment are receiving it.
Given that SUD beds are not available, patients are then forced to receive partial treatment within behavioral health spaces in hospitals, which is oftentimes more expensive.
If there was a dedicated facility on the Catawba Hospital campus, the report says it could result in a plethora of positive outcomes, including:
- Decreasing the cost to treat substance use disorder patients by about 40% when compared to treatment at a behavioral health facility
- Decreased pressure on police, who often have to sit with patients in crisis
- Lowering patient census from 98% to 85% and ultimately providing a safer environment for staff and patients
- Quicker treatment for substance use disorder patients
- Providing treatment to substance use abuse disorder patients with complex mental health, who often lack access to comprehensive care
- Increasing revenue of state mental health facilities by freeing up beds
- Behavioral beds would be released, allowing for treatment specifically for those suffering from mental health challenges
- Reduction of readmissions
- New SUD units are designed with flexibility to address the fluctuations that occur in the needs of the regional population of 2.5 million so that bed utilization is maximized in an efficient and safe manner
The report outlined a range of options for adding a treatment facility at the Catawba campus.
“HDR considered whether the Catawba campus was the right location for this transformational model program with both Western State Hospital and Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute located in the valley and Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute located just outside the valley; however, the expansive Catawba campus provides considerable space to grow and is centrally located and less than 2 hours to the other 3 hospitals. In addition, it exists in a hub of education feeder schools for new staff,” the report found.
One option could help more than 300 people at a time if the project comes to fruition, according to the feasibility study. That would cost about $275 million and take about five years to complete.
That option and others would require new construction on the campus, so Rasoul has proposed an interim option: renovating the current Catawba Hospital building.
“We’re hoping to take the half of Catawba Hospital that’s not being used, rehab that, to be able to offer some beds around substance use disorder,” Rasoul said. “The reality is having even that much more in regard to resources in our region would be a significant help to our families that are in need,” Rasoul said.
Interested in reading the entire report? You can do so here.
