April, 2021
Hospital may become addiction center
RUSSELL – After a year filled with economic ups and downs, the COVID-19 pandemic and winter storms that brought hundreds of thousands in damages to Greenup County, Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter and other local leaders were ready for some good news.
The first came when the county received the Bellefonte Pavilion on the former OLBH campus from its parent company as a donation. The county then sold the building to King’s Daughters Medical Center which plans to bring 350 jobs there.
Another bright spot is the possibility that the Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital itself may not stand empty much longer. Since the hospital closed a year ago, there has been a concerted effort to find a way to utilize it.
That may be happening soon, acccording to Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter. He was approached by an acquaintance about the possibility of the former hospital becoming an in-patient addiction center and two weeks ago, met with officials from ARC, a Louisa firm.
"After we talked, I called Russell Mayor Ron Simpson to bring him in on this," Carpenter said. "The city can use the jobs with OLBH closed and like me, he thought this was a great opportunity for his city and the county."
Carpenter said he has done a great deal of research on the company in the last two weeks and hasn't found anything negative.
"This is a true residential rehabilitation center," he said. "They come for six months to a year and they stay there. If they wander out or if they break any rule, that person is out."
The more he learns about ARC, the better he feels, Carpenter said.
"I think this is a great fit," he said. "It will be an asset for the county and the city of Russell. I've been very, very impressed with all I've learned and I'm really excited about the jobs it will bring."
In addition to professional counseling and therapy staff, the center would create jobs for cooks, housekeeping, office management, transporation and clerical areas such as finance, admissions and administration.
ARC's mission statement is to "provide opportunities for people to discover hope and live their God-given destiny," and Carpenter says he thinks it only fitting that a faith-based center move into the space once occupied by the faith-based hospital.
ARC is a leading provider of addiction rehabilitation services in Kentucky. The company has admitted over 8,000 patients for residential treatment since opening its first center in 2010. It now has 28 centers in 17 Kentucky counties with 675 employees. It also has a center specificially for pregnant women who continue their stay for three months after delivering their child.
In addition to help addicted individuals get off drugs, ARC also provides educational opportunities as well as a chance at employment through internship programs when they are through recovery. These include food management, auto repair, certified business office manager, general maintenace, behavior health technician and creative arts.
Those who have completed the program may have an opportunity to work with ARC which would likely be the case if the company opens a center in Greenup County.
Carpenter and other officials have been invited to tour a campus at the former St. Catherine's College to see how ARC operates.
"I'm eager to do that," he said. "I just think this is really good thing for Greenup County and for our people.
"We need this. We've needed this for a long time. Not only will it bring life back to the OLBH campus, it will bring jobs and most of all, it will give those who need it a place to recover and get their lives back together."
The judge-executive said he will be meeting again with ARC officials next week to continue to explore the possibility of the center locating here
The first came when the county received the Bellefonte Pavilion on the former OLBH campus from its parent company as a donation. The county then sold the building to King’s Daughters Medical Center which plans to bring 350 jobs there.
Another bright spot is the possibility that the Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital itself may not stand empty much longer. Since the hospital closed a year ago, there has been a concerted effort to find a way to utilize it.
That may be happening soon, acccording to Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter. He was approached by an acquaintance about the possibility of the former hospital becoming an in-patient addiction center and two weeks ago, met with officials from ARC, a Louisa firm.
"After we talked, I called Russell Mayor Ron Simpson to bring him in on this," Carpenter said. "The city can use the jobs with OLBH closed and like me, he thought this was a great opportunity for his city and the county."
Carpenter said he has done a great deal of research on the company in the last two weeks and hasn't found anything negative.
"This is a true residential rehabilitation center," he said. "They come for six months to a year and they stay there. If they wander out or if they break any rule, that person is out."
The more he learns about ARC, the better he feels, Carpenter said.
"I think this is a great fit," he said. "It will be an asset for the county and the city of Russell. I've been very, very impressed with all I've learned and I'm really excited about the jobs it will bring."
In addition to professional counseling and therapy staff, the center would create jobs for cooks, housekeeping, office management, transporation and clerical areas such as finance, admissions and administration.
ARC's mission statement is to "provide opportunities for people to discover hope and live their God-given destiny," and Carpenter says he thinks it only fitting that a faith-based center move into the space once occupied by the faith-based hospital.
ARC is a leading provider of addiction rehabilitation services in Kentucky. The company has admitted over 8,000 patients for residential treatment since opening its first center in 2010. It now has 28 centers in 17 Kentucky counties with 675 employees. It also has a center specificially for pregnant women who continue their stay for three months after delivering their child.
In addition to help addicted individuals get off drugs, ARC also provides educational opportunities as well as a chance at employment through internship programs when they are through recovery. These include food management, auto repair, certified business office manager, general maintenace, behavior health technician and creative arts.
Those who have completed the program may have an opportunity to work with ARC which would likely be the case if the company opens a center in Greenup County.
Carpenter and other officials have been invited to tour a campus at the former St. Catherine's College to see how ARC operates.
"I'm eager to do that," he said. "I just think this is really good thing for Greenup County and for our people.
"We need this. We've needed this for a long time. Not only will it bring life back to the OLBH campus, it will bring jobs and most of all, it will give those who need it a place to recover and get their lives back together."
The judge-executive said he will be meeting again with ARC officials next week to continue to explore the possibility of the center locating here
Dennis Keene, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Local Government, listens during a meeting with county and city officials on Tuesday, April 6.