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St. Joseph’s Veterans Program Update
By Chris Knight, Adirondack Daily Enterprise Staff Writer
Printed: Adirondack Daily Enterprise August 4, 2009
SARANAC LAKE - St. Joseph's Rehabilitation Center is still waiting for the state to award funding for a proposed addiction center for veterans, nearly a year after the program was first announced.
In September 2008, St. Joseph's was one of four addiction centers in New York awarded a share of $25.4 million in funding to increase the number of beds available statewide for combat veterans suffering from both substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. The other three facilities are planned in the Buffalo area, Queens and near Albany.
St. Joseph's sought $1.29 million and hoped to have the facility built and operating by now, but the state money has yet to be awarded.
St. Joseph's Communications Director Jim Grant said they've been told the delay is due to the state budget.
"We're cognizant and appreciative of the difficulties with the state budget," he said. "We're just looking forward to being able to break ground."
Jennifer Farrell, a spokeswoman for the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, said funding will be granted to St. Joseph's and the other three providers once the money has been approved by the state Division of Budget and the contracts are processed.
The Division of Budget has so far approved funding for the projects in Queens and the Buffalo area.
"Feasibility studies are in process for the remaining two (including St. Joseph's)," Farrell said in an e-mail, adding that it could take one to three years for completion of each project.
St. Joseph's is planning a 25-bed, two-story facility that would be located on its 26-acre campus off Glenwood Drive. Grant says a design construction firm hired by the state visited Saranac Lake recently to begin their feasibility study.
"They came here in June and gathered their data," Grant said. "They're compiling it now."
A proposal from St. Joseph's, submitted to the state in May 2008, says there are more than 100,000 veterans in the rehabilitation center's nine-county service area and estimates that more than 400 current veterans meet the criteria for PTSD.
The proposal also describes a "serious gap" in drug and alcohol treatment services, with no programs specific to the needs of veterans.
Grant says their program will be focused on veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, in part because of St. Joseph's proximity to Fort Drum, but won't exclude other veterans who need help.
In addition to clinical services, St. Joseph's is planning to include non-traditional practices in its program such as drama, art therapy, yoga, African drumming and environmental programs.
"We believe this is an innovative program that meets an unmet community need and creates a comprehensive continuum of care with a holistic approach - mind, body, spirit - for veterans affected by war trauma," St. Joseph's CEO Robert Ross wrote in a letter accompanying the proposal.
The new building would provide housing for 25 male residents as well as classrooms, recreational, community, clinical and creative art spaces, a spiritual/mediation center and staff offices.
St. Joseph's plans to staff the facility with 15 people, including a program director, three substance-abuse counselors, a residence manager, six residence aides and several other part-time positions. Priority will be given to hiring veterans or individuals with significant experience with veterans.
St. Joseph's currently has a 58-bed inpatient facility at its main campus in Saranac Lake along with five outpatient clinics in Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Malone, Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga.
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Contact Chris Knight at 891-2600 ext. 24 or cknight@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
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