100 Bed Drug/Alcohol Rehab At Kessler Complex

HAMMONTON—A 100-bed inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center is coming to the Kessler Medical Arts Complex on Route 30.

The town’s zoning board of adjustment unanimously approved the plans at a meeting on March 23, according to a Hammonton Gazette report.

Kessler Management, along with Pyramid Healthcare, Inc., behavioral health experts and project planners, discussed with town officials on how they would build and open the 35,000 square foot facility at the complex, which will also contain Bacharach Sleep Center and an ambulatory surgery center.

Jason Hendricks, COO of Pyramid Healthcare, told the Gazette that the facility’s program would be voluntary and patients would have an average stay of about 20 days. The program will include an initial five days of detox without the use of methadone.

Plans include a separate wing for men and women, an admission screening process, transportation services and possible security measures.

Pyramid Healthcare runs rehabilitation centers and programs for adults and teens suffering from addiction and/or mental illnesses. There are about 80 locations in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Town officials and project representatives agreed to hold monthly briefings with the Hammonton Police Department on the operations of the facility and any issues that may arise.

Atlantic County follows the same rising rates of drug addiction seen statewide, including increasing numbers of heroin and opioid overdose deaths.

The county saw 85 drug-related deaths in 2015, according to the Office of the State Medical Examiner.

Community Healthcare purchased the former William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital for $2.6 million in October 2011 after bankruptcy court proceedings. The hospital closed in 2009 and was operated for a time as just an emergency facility by AtlantiCare.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/bed-drug-alcohol-rehab-coming-to-hammonton-kessler-complex/article_9f16098d-40af-5b3c-b5d7-efa7cdcd7482.html