Carson City Regional Wellness Center In-Patient facility to open this summer, open house Friday

After announcing their new in-patient facility in Dec. 2021, Carson City Community Counseling Center will be opening their brand new 50-bed Regional Wellness Center facility this summer.

An open house for the facility is scheduled for this Friday, with a ribbon cutting at 1 p.m. A donuts and coffee food truck will be on scene, and the community is invited to attend.

The Community Counseling Center began as the Community Addiction Clinic back in 1985 as an outpatient care facility helping those struggling with substance abuse.

Since that time, the clinic has expanded to offer diagnostic assessments, individual, group and family therapy, anger management, community education, and now, they will be adding in-patient therapy to the list.

The facility is taking root in the old Silver State Charter school building on Fairview drive, which will offer 50 beds, a commercial kitchen and cafeteria, laundry facilities, showers, separate wings for men and women, and a nursery and playroom for visiting children or children residing with their caregiver during treatment.

According to Program Director Tandi Maginnis, the need for an in-patient facility is greater than ever, especially since West Hills in-patient facility in Reno closed in Dec. 2021.

“The need is so high,” Maginnis said. “At one point, we had clients waiting five weeks or more for placement. That means they were either stuck in jail or continuing to harm themselves on the streets.”

“It’s so important that we meet people when they are ready to start recovery,” Carol Basagoitia, CCC Administrator, said. “Otherwise, if they have to wait weeks to get help, they might not be ready anymore.”

The facility is open to any individual who is wishing to seek help, whether it be for substance abuse or mental health issues.

“We offer a full wrap-around service,” Maginnis said. “We offer everything from therapy to case management and even transportation to and from the facility. Once an individual finishes the 45 day treatment, that doesn’t necessarily mean our help stops there.”

Maginnis said that they also offer transitional housing to those who complete the program.

“After they’re done here, we don’t want to put them back into an unsafe environment,” Maginnis said. “We don’t want them returning to someone’s couch that might lead back to addiction.”

The center will provide case management for transitioning individuals including helping them to retrieve their social security cards and other legal or medical information so they can find employment. Then they can save up while working until they can afford to move into independent living of their choosing.

“We want people to know that we’re here for them, all along the way,” Maginnis said.

At this time, the center is adult-only and does not take in juveniles for in-patient programming.

However, they do offer outpatient programs for juveniles as well as family counseling.

The facility has been completely redone, including brand new shower and bathroom facilities, a brand new commercial kitchen, furnished rooms, a gym with all new equipment, furnished group therapy rooms, and even a games room.

“It’s important for us that this is a place people can enjoy being in and feeling comfortable,” Basagoitia said. “It helps with transitioning too. We didn’t want it to feel like a hospital or institutional. What do you do when you want to relax? You sit on your couch. That’s exactly what you can do here.”

A unique aspect of the facility is the nursery and playroom. While Basagoitia said it’s better for children to be placed with family members during a caregiver’s recovery, as a last resort, the caregiver can bring their child along.

“It’s a barrier to seeking treatment that we wanted to remove,” Maginnis said.

In addition, the nursery and playroom can be utilized for family visits while in treatment, or working towards reunification with the Division of Child and Family Services.

While the center helps in recovery, they also want to set their clients up for the future.

“We take pride in incorporating activities into their lives,” Basagoitia said. “It could be an activity they already enjoyed or they didn’t know they enjoy, but it’s something to focus on during recovery. We have a games room where they can socialize, we’re going to incorporate baking and cooking classes, gardening, fitness; all kinds of options moving forward with sobriety.”

The community is asked to join in the celebration this Friday, June 30 at the CCC Regional Wellness Center located at 788 Fairview Drive in Carson City with an open house from 1 to 6 p.m.

For more information about Community Counseling, please visit https://cccofcarsoncity.org