First Resident Admitted at Chestnut
by Randy Pierce
MARYVILLE — Chestnut Health Systems has announced the admission of its first client at the agency’s newly-opened 16-bed men’s residential treatment unit located at 2148 Vadalabene Drive in Maryville and plans to operate a new women’s unit of similar capacity in January.
That initial admission earlier this month marks a major step forward for Chestnut following a conversion of this facility from serving adolescents to adult males over the past nearly two years, offering an array of services including psychiatric care, medication assisted treatment and recovery, substance use detox, peer coaching and primary health care while also addressing crisis situations.
In expanding what used to be a center for teens suffering from similar conditions that had closed in March 2022 while the coronavirus pandemic still existed, Chestnut is creating 14 new jobs with the possibility of more anticipated.
Open to individuals over the age of 18, Chestnut’s Maryville treatment center offers a structured and supportive environment to assist those in recovery while also protecting their physical and emotional well-being through the use of a team of licensed/certified counselors who provide personal attention in a setting designed to be comfortable.
Clients participate in individual, group and family counseling along with learning life skills such as decision making, stress management, assertiveness, coping and preventing relapses.
The around-the-clock structure of supervision includes not only psychiatric care and medical services but also catered meals, exercise and recreational activities. When clients are ready to go beyond the confines of the facility, Chestnut provides outpatient counseling and referrals to other community support groups.
The initiation of the women’s unit after the start of the new year coincides with Chestnut’s approach to gender-specific treatment focusing on the clients’ strengths, needs and the barriers they encounter, along with incorporating factors such as family dynamics, parenting, emotional well-being and components of other relationships.
“We are thrilled to introduce adult residential units to the Metro East area,” Amy Gibbar, vice president of integrated care for Chestnut Health Systems, stated. “We understand that residential treatment is often a vital step in the journey to recovery and finding available beds can be a challenge.”
Any family with one of its members or individuals with a need for such treatment of addiction in such a setting should schedule an assessment by calling 618-877-4420. This Maryville facility will also, at some point in the future, include an ambulatory detox program and a pharmacy.
Offering a broad range of health services, Chestnut, a registered and accredited not-for-profit charitable organization governed by a volunteer board of directors, also operates facilities, units, offices and/or other service sites in Belleville, Bloomington (two), Chicago, Normal and Granite City, all in Illinois, Eugene, Oregon, Hillsboro, Missouri and Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
