Caron Treatment Centers, an addiction recovery facility in Wernersville, Berks County, opened a $15 million medical center Thursday that expands its detoxification program and adds beds for seniors.
Carole and Ray Neag Medical Center is part of Caron’s ongoing $70 million expansion and renovation effort amid an increasingly deadly opioid epidemic. The 47,000 square-foot building addresses two of the epidemic’s pressing problems: insufficient service for the elderly population and treatment that helps patients get through grueling detoxification, said Doug Tieman, president of Caron Treatment Centers.
Addiction among older adults is one of the fastest growing health problems in the country, he said.
“Pain is a very common theme for seniors, so being prescribed opioids is very typical for them,” he said.
Commonly prescribed painkillers and cheap and easy access to heroin have pushed people across age groups and socio-economic divides into the throes of addiction.
Last year, drug overdoses led to a death nearly every other day on average in the Lehigh Valley , according to county records. Of those, 77 were people over 50.
Older adults who misuse opioids are expected to reach 2.4 percent of the population, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The majority of older patients use [more than five](http://administration%20of%20aging%20and%20substance%20abuse%20and%20mental%20health%20services%20administration/) medications or supplements daily, which can lead to unintentional drug abuse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The Carole and Ray Neag Medical Center features 14 beds for older patients and 15 beds for detoxification as well as rooms for hydrotherapy, physical therapy, neurofeedback, and psychological analysis. Caron’s bed count will stay at 230. Officials at the Berks County facility said 45 people from Lehigh and Northampton counties sought treatment there this year.
The new building sits on a hill overlooking rolling hills, farms, fields and houses. Its rooms have large windows, soft lighting and light-color walls. Patients will move in on Monday.
The monthly cost of treatment at Caron is $35,000, Tieman said. The facility accepts some insurance, and offers financial aid to people who can’t afford treatment.
