DECEMBER 22, 2011 ISSUE
Daymark To Close Recovery Education Centers in Watauga, Wilkes
“
We’re not closing it because it was a bad program. We’re closing it because it was an expensive program.
” —Billy West, CEO of Daymark Recovery ServicesDaymark Recovery Services, the behavioral health provider now serving counties formally served by the now-defunct New River Behavioral HealthCare, has announced it will discontinue Recovery Education Centers in Watauga and Wilkes counties.
When Daymark took over for New River in November after the former provider suddenly collapsed this fall, it agreed to maintain all of New River’s services throughout the transition. Daymark also conducted a rapid analysis of the entire service system to determine which services it can sustain long term.
“At the outset, it was clear that New River Behavioral HealthCare’s services were not financially viable and could not be sustained,” stated a December 14 press release from Daymark and Smoky Mountain Center, the management entity that selected Daymark as the area’s new provider. “The cost of the New River Behavioral HealthCare service array and staffing patterns far exceeded their revenue and available financial resources for some time, ultimately leading to the collapse of the organization.”
To adjust, Daymark is cutting the Recovery Education Centers (RECs) in Wilkes and Watauga and the Evergreen Residential program in Watauga effective December 30. Consumers affected by these program closures will continue to receive services through groups and psychiatric/medication management appointments as needed, the release stated. Daymark is working with Smoky and other agencies to transition Evergreen consumers to other programs.
“We will be able to serve all of the previous New River Behavioral HealthCare consumers but not with the identical package of services,” Daymark Recovery Services CEO Billy West stated in the release.
The centers—Watauga’s was established in 2008—primarily offered recovery-oriented mental health classes to individuals with no health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare. Classes, such as Trauma and Recovery, Art of Emotions, Healing Crafts, Anger Management and Building Self Esteem, were offered each semester. A major distinction, said Sarah Dunagan, regional director for Daymark, was the use of Peer Support Specialists—leaders who have some history or experience with mental health or substance abuse issues.
“Peer Support staff were a wonderful asset,” Dunagan said, noting that the Recovery Education Centers employed more of a wellness and recovery model than a medical model.
West said the elimination of the Recovery Education Centers will save Daymark money in staffing and facility costs. No services will be offered that are not “billable,” he said—that is, that do not have existing medical billing codes. As a result, Daymark is eliminating about 18 positions, resulting in about eight layoffs because some employees were moved to other areas.
“We’re not closing it because it was a bad program. We’re closing it because it was an expensive program,” West said. Daymark will offer its own model of group services, which are not yet up and running, but West acknowledged they wouldn’t be exactly the same.
West said Daymark’s services will operate on a sliding scale fee for clients with no form of insurance.
“The bottom line is there should be no increase for patients,” he said.
The Evergreen Residential program was serving four to six men by providing shelter for clients seeking treatment at New River, and subsequently, Daymark’s clinics.
“There was not enough money coming in to sustain that program,” West said. “Housing is extremely important for good treatment, but we can’t support financially both the treatment and the housing.”
Overall, Daymark is looking to increase efficiency in services in the area, West said, noting that New River had a high rate of no-shows to appointments, which wasted valuable staff time and resources.
“We have to find a different way to meet their needs and not just have endless no-shows,” West said. He said Daymark will try to find ways to schedule appointments when it’s convenient for clients while encouraging clients to seek treatment at its clinics before resorting to hospital emergency rooms.
Daniel Platt, director of the Recovery Education Center, could not be reached as of press time.
In June of this year, High Country Press profiled the Recovery Education Center in Boone.
In response to the article, Gail Hawkinson commented online, “It would be impossible to fully describe all the aspects of this wonderful program that is part of New River Behavioral HealthCare. I have been a part of mental health services since 1971, and it is one of the most exciting and comprehensive programs I’ve seen for treatment professionals to partner with the individual with a mental illness and/or substance abuse in their recovery. Thank you for letting our community know that there is hope for better lives.”
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