Hospital to give up addiction program

The Capital-Journal

St. Francis Health Center will close its outpatient addiction treatment program on June 1, eliminating five staff members and referring 40 patients to other programs.

Kim Gronniger, spokeswoman for St. Francis, said management decided to close The Recovery Center at St. Francis, 4646 NW Fielding Road, because of declining reimbursements and a sufficient number of other providers in the Topeka area .

In the spring of 2007, staff members of The Recovery Center participated in a values-based, decision-making process that focused on the program's future, given changes in reimbursement levels and the availability of chemical dependency services from other local providers. They identified and implemented several changes last year.

"However, with fewer resources available, we made the difficult decision to close the center and focus our efforts on growing needs for acute care and charity care," St. Francis released Monday.

Founded in 1984, The Recovery Center at St. Francis has provided addiction treatment and counseling services for patients and family members coping with chemical dependency and gambling problems .

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