Walk into the renovated Don and Cathy Jacob's House on West Loudon, and if you look straight ahead through the foyer, down the hallway, you might just catch a glimpse of the corner of a pool table — and maybe a resident taking a break by playing around.
"All the rooms for this program are on the same floor. We have a recreation room. The nurse, the staff offices. All right here," says the center's Katie Vogel.
The goal of the 16-bed facility, tucked between a basement and upper floor dedicated to other services, is to provide a short term treatment option. One that's quite a bit shorter than their typical six-month program and, as Vogel notes, less formidable.
"This program is filling a need where we need a shorter term inpatient residential option. It actually it can be kind of intimidating to agree to start a six-month program," Vogel explains. "So this being shorter term gives us an opportunity to get people in the door who may not otherwise choose to utilize our services."
That said, it's far from an unregulated environment. There's round the clock supervision with licensed therapists, 12-step facilitation, and therapeutic groups, as well as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, registered nurse, and peer support available.
Vogel says there's certainly no shortage of demand for such services, but the Hope Center is hoping that this new offering will give them a chance to treat more people, given the quicker turnover rates.
