LOCAL

Detox, stabilization center set to open Oct. 1 in Martinsburg

Matthew Umstead
matthewu@herald-mail.com

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Paloma Crisis Stabilization and Detox Center in Martinsburg is set to open on Oct. 1.

An open house for the 16-bed facility at 415 Wilson St. is set to be held on Friday, Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"It's a beautiful facility and we're really excited about it," said Peter Callahan of Martinsburg-based Callahan Counseling Services.

The new center is opening in the former Buyers Guide building, which has been renovated and expanded since Callahan purchased the property in January 2017 for $254,000.

The project was awarded Governor’s Advisory Council for Substance Abuse start-up funding from the Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities (BBHHF) last year, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources spokeswoman Allison Adler said Friday in an email.

Callahan said he was awarded more than $1.4 million in BBHHF grant funding for the establishment of the facility and start-up costs.

The grant funding came after the state Office of Health Facility Licensure & Certification (OHFLAC) gave Callahan permission to begin construction of the new crisis stabilization unit. The Martinsburg Planning Commission approved a site plan for the center that included a 2,500-square-foot addition to the former Buyers Guide facility in May 2017.

Callahan said the stabilization and detox center will start out small with about a half dozen patients so that any "kinks" in the operation can be more easily resolved. The average stay of individuals treated at the facility is expected to be three to 10 days, Callahan said.

The center's goal is to stabilize patients' current situations, then have them referred for appropriate follow-up care such as individual or group therapy, and outpatient- or inpatient-treatment centers, Callahan said.

Services will include crisis and medical detoxification with a 24-hour nursing staff, recovery coach and mental health technician and psychiatric services offered with individual, group, family and supportive counseling, according to the DHHR.

The Paloma Crisis Stabilization and Detox Center in Martinsburg is set to open on Oct. 1.