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Hospital Proposes Alcohol Memorial Hospi ta l (or McHenry County has f i led an appl icat ion with the State of I l l inois to open an inpat ient Alcohol ism/Chemical Dependency Treatment program to include detoxi f icat ion and rehabi l i tat ion Announcement of the f i l ing and informat ion on the _ major new program was made last month in a jo int statement by Lee Pesce. execut ive director of Memorial - Hospi ta l . Woodstock and Robert Martens, execut ive director of the Family Service and Community Mental Heal th Center, McHenry The program concept is to bui ld on and expand services current ly avai lable on an outpat ient basis through the Family Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse, located in Woodstock This is a program of the Family Service and Community Mental Heal th Center The proposed chemical dependency inpat ient pro­ gram wi l l be a hospi ta l -based dist inct urand wi l l include four beds for medical 'detoxi f icat ion and 10 treatment beds, said Martens In addi t ion to referrals f rom the Family Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse and the McHenry County Dr iv ing Under the Inf fuence (DUI) project , state-funded and pr ivate referrals wi l l be accepted The comprehensive program has been under develop­ ment for over a year, and planning included consul tat ion wi th the regional Heal th Systems Agency for Kane. Lake and McHenry count ies, the I l l inois Department of Mental Heal th and Developmental Disabi l i t ies, and the McHenry County Mental Heal th Board The in i t ia l feasibi l i ty study for inpat ient a lcohol ism chemical dependency detoxi f icat ion and treatment services was in i t iated by Memorial Hospi ta l for McHenry County and the McHenry County Mental Heal th Board, and was prepared by Robert Lesser, then employed by the Hospi ta l The f indings of the feasibi l i ty study, completed in March of 1983, supported the need for a community-based treatment program During the study, i t became apparent that a posi t ive and unique joirrt venture relat ionship couia be est3b- l ished by Memorial Hospi ta l for McHenry County and the Family Service and Community Mental Heal th Center This venture bui lds on the exist ing Family Center for - Alcohol and Substance Abuse which of fers a var iety of indiv idual and group outpat ient services and is a major source of referrals for detoxi f icat ion and inpat ient t reatment services Pesce said ear ly discussions indicated contract ing wi th Family Service would help keep pat ient care costs to a minimum and provide much more ef fect ive movement of pat ients f rom in-hospi ta l to outpat ient and or day treatment services This prel iminary f inding has since been substan­ t iated, Pesce cont inued Memorial Hospi ta l wi l l be , |he provider and have responsibi l i ty for overal l program Abuse Treatment Program direct ion Staf f ing wi l l be a combinat ion of hospi ta l employees and contracted services * The or ig inal study was later reviewed by a consul tant exper ienced in the f ie ld of a lcohol ism services. He recommended an-approach that would al low an integra­ t ion of the inpat ient t reatment phase fol lowed by a comprehensive day treatment program In their statement Martens and Pesce summarized the benef i ts to the publ ic that would accrue through this f i rst- major. comprehensive cpunty-wide ef for t to aid in alcohol abuse rehabi l i tat ion • Maximize staf f ut i l izat ion, both at Memorial Hospi ta l and Family Services • Minimize pat ient care costs^by providing a highly integrated network of services and reducing inpat ient length of stay. • Avoid dupl icat ion of services. • Provide a complete range of community-based services, including detoxi f icat ion, inpat ient and out­ pat ient rehabi l i tat ion, fami ly counsel ing and af tercare, and • Assure cont inui ty of care Because of the careful p lanning necessary for a Gert i f icate-Of-Need approval by the State, the project has sol ic i ted and received the enthusiast ic endorsement of many agencies that recognize the need for these services. Pesce said A cr i t ical e lement in th is support is the recogni t ion that costs of t reatment wi l l be compar­ able to non-hospi ta l programs in Northern I l l inois As a responsible community heal th care provider. Memorial Hospi ta l wi l l meet the needs of indiv iduals unable to pay for services. Pesce said With the Family Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse. Memorial Hospi ta l wi l l provide detoxi f icat ion and treatment to al l ' residents®of McHenry County Hospital Recognized for Foster Family Participation Memorial Hospi ta l has been recognized by the I l l inois Department of Chi ldren and' Family Services for i ts part ic ipat ion in the foster fami l ies program ^ For the past three years, the hospi ta l has provided faci l i t ies for the or ientat ion of prospect ive foster fami l ies in McHenry county In announcing the awarding of the Volunteer Services- Recogni t ion Cert i f icate, Marcel la A Hardin, resource development .d i rector for the state - agency, said she wished to acknowledge the help of Dor is Jones, admin­ istrat ive assistant, who has been cheerful and open in her assistance and direct ion - 1 1 -