It is very fitting that after 50 years of providing addiction treatment and recovery services for women, Hazelden will build on that legacy by unveiling the first phase of its new state-of-the-art Women's Recovery Center. A new two-story structure with two 22-bed primary care units will open to patients on Sept. 20 in Center City. It is part of the largest expansion of treatment beds at Hazelden in 30 years.

"Fifty years ago--in July 1956--the first female patient was admitted to Dia Linn in White Bear Lake, Minn.," says Ellen Breyer, Hazelden President and CEO. "Since that time, we've given hope and healing to more than 40,000 women. Now we look forward to greatly expanding the capacity and quality of care for women for the next 50 years. We're proud to build on our leadership by providing an environment of care that is second to none and making program innovations that better address the special needs of female alcoholics and addicts."

The new Women's Recovery Center is a direct response to the demand for women's services at Hazelden and the general need for women's care nationwide. Over the past six years, Hazelden has experienced a fourfold increase in calls requesting women's treatment services. Nationally, an estimated 7.4 million U.S. females 12 and older are classified as substance dependent or substance abusers and in need of care, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Of those, only about 10 percent receive treatment at a specialty care facility.

"We are committed to serving more women and to helping women overcome barriers to care, such as stigma and shame," says Breyer. "Our new center signals an understanding that women need more opportunities for effective addiction services."

A commitment to women
Sheila Hermes, supervisor of the Lilly Unit for women, says the promotion of the new center will help fight stigma. "When people see and hear about this wonderful facility, it will demonstrate to the public that treatment is acceptable and that it doesn't occur in a rigid, intimidating atmosphere," she says. "It shows that treatment is delivered in a community of respect and dignity, with a focus on the strength and resiliency of women." It also continues Hazelden's long-standing belief that this is a bad disease that affects good people."

Brenda Iliff, executive director of the Women's Recovery Center, says accessing care has always been an issue for women. Overcoming stigma is a constant battle. "We hear the same shaming statements we heard 50 years ago: ‘Women who are drunks are the lowest of the low.' ‘How could a mother be using meth?'" says Iliff. "Since society generally views that men are not strong caregivers, that role usually rests with the mothers. If women are the caregivers, how do they get away for treatment? Who will care for their children? They worry they'll lose their kids. Add socioeconomic factors like a lack of financial resources or health insurance to pay for treatment and child care, and it's easy to see why women hide their addiction longer."

The creation of a center specifically for women--a safe, healing, respectful, comfortable, serene, simple, and inviting venue of care--should help remove some of those barriers to care, Iliff adds.

Women to gain 24 beds
The opening of the new 41,000-square-foot, two-story building represents the completion of the first phase of the Women's Recovery Center. Patients from the current Lilly Unit will move into the new building along with new patients in late September. Once Lilly is vacated, renovation of that space will begin, with completion scheduled for fall 2007. The result will be a comprehensive, cohesive Women's Recovery Center that will have three 22-bed primary care units and a 22-bed extended care unit for women. The upper floor of Lilly will become a primary care unit and the lower level will serve extended care. A ground floor walkway will connect the new structure with Lilly; the Dan Anderson Renewal Center will also link to the new center. The women from the current Dia Linn Unit will move into the remodeled space. The space currently serving Dia Linn will become a swing space for the men's units, as those primary units are remodeled one at a time over the next 5-7 years.

Overall, the capacity to serve women at Hazelden will increase by 37.5 percent, from 64 to 88 beds. Creating a new women's extended care unit will allow the current mixed-gender Jellinek Unit to become an all-male extended care unit and will increase the number of men served from 14 to 29. Overall, by fall 2007, Hazelden's capacity to serve adult patients will increase by 39 beds, from 182 to 221.

In addition to meeting the demand for more patients, the Women's Recovery Center offers design features to enhance the therapeutic experience. "The center has been neatly designed to provide improved space for community, as well as enhanced private space for each woman," said Hermes.

Exterior features include decks or patios facing South Center Lake for nearly all the units, and exterior courtyards for all the units.

On the inside, the dayroom (or large-group room) provides outstanding space for large-group meetings, with a circular design and clerestory windows to ensure privacy. The library, with large windows overlooking the lake, offers a perfect setting for reading and reflection. The bedrooms are configured into seven three-bed clusters, with the three-person rooms departing from the traditional dorm-like setting of current units. The design allows patients more privacy and space. Half walls separate the sleeping areas, and there are vanities for each woman. The unit features a living room-kitchenette that provides added community space, and there are rooms for creative expression, computer access, and one-on-one meetings. Warm earth tones are featured throughout in the interior design.

More than a building
As impressive as the new structure is, Iliff is quick to point out that the Women's Recovery Center "is more than a building. We've redesigned our clinical services to provide women the most effective care possible."

To complement the new environment of care, Hazelden staff and consultants conducted a thorough inventory of the women's program over the last 18 months. Many program enhancements and additions have already been implemented, and more are under consideration.

Sue Hoisington, PsyD, executive director of Hazelden Mental Health Services, was a leader with Hermes in examining services, identifying any gaps, and making recommendations for improvements. "The consensus of our group was to not lose focus on the Twelve Steps as a foundation for care," said Hoisington. "We will remain faithful to the core of our program. Equally important was the desire to design the clinical program intentionally for women."

Improved integration of treatment team
Perhaps one of the major enhancements is the effort at improved integration of the multidisciplinary team. "We have more collaboration between the chemical dependency unit staff and mental health staff," said Hoisington. "For instance, we have more groups being co-facilitated by clinicians from the CD and mental health teams. This will further enhance a Twelve Step philosophy in the groups for co-occurring disorders. It allows for a more integrated, holistic approach to each patient."

Many more enhancements to women-specific care have been made:

• A new women-only afternoon lecture series, with gender-specific topics highlighted. The morning and evening lectures are still coed, but more recovering women will be speaking at the evening lectures.
• Enhanced education for all patients on special issues like eating disorders and trauma, so patients can better recognize these issues and address them.
• More integrated family services.
• A closing ceremony to end each day.
• A weekly health clinic led by the medical services staff to address women's health issues.
• A weekly lecture and group led by the continuing care staff on topics such as relapse prevention, AA and getting a sponsor, and resentment.
• One hour of structured creative arts activities for mothers and their children on visiting day.
• Early recovery parenting needs information.
• A counselor/patient resource guide (co-produced by Hazelden's treatment and publishing divisions) to provide education on wide ranging topics related to women's recovery (PMS, parenting, codependency, co-occurring disorders, and more).
• Revamped trauma and disordered eating groups to include empirically supported interventions.
• Wellness services specific to women.
• Enhanced assessments to address women-specific issues (eg, sexuality, social skills, parenting needs, reproductive issues).

"This is clearly an exciting time for all of us," said Iliff. "We are thrilled to make far-reaching advances in our continuum of care, taking women's care to the next level. With a new center, program enhancements, and our new continuing care initiative, opportunities for lifelong recovery for women have never been better at Hazelden."

--by Marty Duda

Published in The Voice, Summer 2006