Addiction Treatment Industry Newswire |
Change at Top That Hazelden is no longer the treatment services revenue leader for non-profits – which together account for 60 percent of the industry – is a turn of events certainly with big significance for the addiction treatment industry. But Caron’s rocket-like emergence as the one to beat is more symbolic, rather than emblematic, of major changes post managed care in the specialty stand-alone sector of the addiction treatment market, which attracts approximately 45 percent, or about $19B, of the $35B or so spent annually treating addictions nationwide. With the famous “chit chat” moniker defining Dick Caron’s key role in pioneering spiritual, 12-Step care models after his return from WWII- just as he began to build out Caron’s main campus in south eastern Pennsylvania into the now famous Wernersville main campus – Hazelden was also, perhaps a little more famously, pursuing the same spiritual-driven treatment agenda based on the principals of Alcoholics Anonymous. In fact the two institutions together, Caron and Hazelden, more than any others it is likely safe to say, are responsible for shaping the overwhelmingly spiritual-based AA modality driven addictions care system that currently exists in our country. Management Differentiator
Again, Management … While Caron achieved all this with remarkable management continuity, Hazelden has gone through a few CEOs, culminating in the disastrous tenure of Ellen Breyer, under whom Hazelden lost virtually every single major senior manager. With a literal revolving door at the very top in the enormously difficult post-managed care years, it’s no wonder execution failed at most organic expansion efforts in places like Chicago and New York, not to mention the breakup of the long relationship with Hanley Center in Florida. During this period, publishing was the stellar performer at Hazelden, which struggled with enormous new high-end for-profit competition coming from Arizona and Southern California that had strong expertise in attracting cash-out-pocket private pay clientele. While Hazelden sat on the fence in the face of ever more intrusive commercial payor utilization review, ultimately making a decision to leverage very generous Minnesota attitudes toward treatment to make a big lucrative in-network play, Caron’s dynamic duo of management and board of directors made a gutsy decision early on to sever all insurance relationships… and once again executed brilliantly in the tough private pay environment. A Radical Hazelden Initiative?
POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW..start a debate! GOT ADDICTION INDUSTRY NEWS? tell us… |