The Treatment Center in New Adolescent Addictions Venture

Addiction Treatment Industry Newswire

10/16/2013 -ATIN – The Treatment Center, which in five years has quickly grown into one of South Florida’s largest addiction treatment drug rehab alcohol rehab operations, will be opening a major new facility aimed at treating adolescents, one of a very few centers targeting this demographic in the nation’s biggest “destination” addiction treatment marketplace. South Florida’s addiction treatment capacity services much of the private addiction treatment demand for the entire East Coast.

Nursing Home Conversion

In an interview with Treatment Magazine, CEO Bill Russell said The Treatment Center will be converting a former nursing home facility in central

Palm Beach County located near The Treatment Center’s current nearly 150-bed residential facility, also a nursing home conversion. Targeting a demographic of ages 14-17, and offering the gender specific tracks absolutely critical in treating very youthful populations, Russell says the new adolescent care facility will have residential/inpatient type licensure and an initial capacity of 42 beds. “We are looking at a February 2014 open for business target,” Russell said.

Founder’s Passing

Michael Chernak, whose passing last year was a major emotional blow to his executive partners, is the founder of The Treatment Center and was a leading South Florida addictions industry entrepreneurial figure post managed care. He was also among the the founders in the late 1990s of The Watershed, which after Chernak’s departure invested heavily in new facilities and has grown into one of the largest and most financially successful for-profit addiction treatment centers in the nation. Chernak split rather acrimoniously with his partners at The Watershed, left the company in 2003 and sold back his stake 2005. In 2009, Chernak founded The Treatment Center and brought in Russell and several other treatment executives as partners. With their combined expertise, the group quickly grew The Treatment Center into a major competitive force and one of the biggest operations in South Florida.

Top Five Facility

With the addition of the new adolescent center, The Treatment Center will be among the five largest addiction treatment centers in the South Florida market. In addition to growing to almost 150 beds residentially, late last year The Treatment Center opened an outpatient operation that Russell says is currently running at about a 1,000 client a year capacity. The Treatment Center’s payor mix is overwhelmingly commercial insurance pay oriented with a mix of out-of-network and in-network payment sources.