Kentucky names doctor-founded program as model

Physicians play an active role in the Healing Place, both on the recovery center's board and providing care.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Jan. 31, 2005.

A recovery program founded by physicians has become a model to help substance abusers in Kentucky beat addiction.

Kentucky plans to create 10 alcohol and drug abuse recovery centers around the state modeled after two centers, including the Healing Place, a facility in Louisville embraced by members of the Jefferson County (Ky.) Medical Society. Gov. Ernie Fletcher, MD, announced earlier this month that the state would spend $9.5 million to build the centers to house and treat 1,000 men and women.

The Healing Place's recovery program will serve as the model for the new effort, called Recovery Kentucky. The Hope Center, a shelter in Lexington, Ky., that incorporated the Healing Place's recovery plan, will be a model for the physical layout of the new facilities, said Colleen Blouin, spokeswoman for the governor's office for local development. The two centers provide a safe place for addicts to recover through peer support and daily living skills training.

"We chose the Healing Place as the model for these centers because we wanted to promote recovery throughout Kentucky in a way that is proven to be successful, is cost-effective and is designed to be replicated in any place in the Commonwealth [of Kentucky]. We found all of those in the Healing Place model, along with the leadership to convey its success," Dr. Fletcher said in a statement.

Kentucky will use $2.5 million of low-income housing tax credits to construct the centers. Operating funds will include $4 million in community development block grants and $3 million from the Dept. of Corrections.