Who We Are

Annual Report 2023

​

Executive Summary

Wellness Recovery (WR) concluded its fourth full calendar year of operation in 2023 providing care to individuals with substance use disorder. We view addiction as a brain based disease that requires medical management along with counseling interventions. Especially vulnerable to this continuing world addiction pandemic are impoverished and non-dominant culture individuals. Wellness Recovery, through the dedicated efforts of our Counselors, Nurses, Technicians, and Physicians delivered evidenced based care 24 hours per day, 7 days per week following the standards of the American Association of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). WR, in cooperation with Tracy Counseling Center, continued to offer free inpatient and outpatient care to any first responder seeking treatment for addiction issues. First responders, health care and other front-line workers continued to be exposed to extreme levels of traumatic stress in the post-CoVID world that places them at risk for addiction.

Wellness Recovery continues to provide an innovative treatment approach that incorporates a medical model (i.e., medications for opiate use disorder) with individualized holistic treatment. Dr. Caitlin Corbitt, Medical Director and Psychiatrist, and her staff provide evidence based medical and psychiatric treatment to manage withdrawal symptoms and address overall well-being. Following the ASAM model, we believe that addiction treatment must coincide with mental health treatment and offer individual, group, psychoeducational counseling services. WR also provided warm hand offs to outpatient and social service partners.

The management of this disease requires a highly caregivers, WR staff members attended required trainings in CPR, First aid, Emergency management, Infectious Disease, and Confidentiality Policies. Professional staff also completed additional trainings in recovery support, trauma and culturally informed counseling.

WR values feedback. Client satisfaction was assessed through a blind online survey. General satisfaction was measured at high or very high on most of the survey questions. Of particular note, were comments of professionalism and extra effort that exceed client expectations. This key statistic reinforces our core employee expectations of non-judgmental empathy towards all persons.

While WR is relatively small for an inpatient facility, it is large in heart and focused on delivering care to a diverse population. Last year we provided care to 343 individuals. Ages of our clients ranged from 18 to 71 and crossed the diversity spectrum of age, gender, race, culture, socio-economic status and gender identity. WR believes that addiction, as a disease, shows no prejudice. A separate section of this report breakdown admission demographics. Our clients sought addiction treatment for a wide variety of issues with opioid and alcohol dependency being the top two. Our staff all share a pledge to help and support those need in a non-judgmental and empathic way. We hold positive regard for all people and look forward to our service to Fayette and near-by counties in the next year.

Annual Review of Program Philosophy

Each year at our annual advisory board meeting, WR’s owner and administrative leadership meet to review key components of the program’s treatment philosophy, core values and promises to the community. This section is a review and readoption of core commitments.

1. Who We Are:

Wellness Recovery provides comprehensive treatment for individuals 18 years of and older experiencing drug and alcohol addictions. WR will incorporate innovative treatment modalities, such as yoga, exercise, dieting, therapeutic massage, and music and art therapy.  Our goal is to educate clients about wellness as well as treat them for addiction. Our services will also include group classes and psycho-educational sessions for our patients. Subjects include topics such as nutrition, exercise, goal planning, stress management and conflict resolution. Wellness Recovery will focus on each individual to develop a specific treatment plan that best meets their needs to sustain recovery. For instance, after each patient arrives, they will be offered education in rehabilitation, nutrition and exercise as it relates to their particular issues. Our goal is to create a holistic and well-rounded experience for each patient in order to optimize their path towards wellness. 

2.Our Mission:

The mission of Wellness Recovery is to promote the health and well-being of the local population by providing accessible, high-quality care integrating the traditional medical model with holistic treatment for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addictions. Wellness Recovery is committed to providing services that will exceed the expectations of our patients, resulting in a successful sustained recovery.

3.Our Treatment approach:

Addiction can have a crippling effect on you and those around you and can lead to other serious health problems and behavioral disorders. Wellness Recovery holds the philosophy that addiction is a disease and lasting wellness can be attained through the proper balance of medical management, exercise, nutrition, holistic activities and psychoeducation. Wellness Recovery incorporates traditional cognitive and behavioral therapy to support behavioral change, Gestalt therapy to develop insight and motivational interviewing to provide reinforcement, encouragement and  motivation to maintain sobriety from drug and alcohol abuse. Reality therapy frames group sessions where clients will work on developing health, belonging (social and family), fun, freedom and power goals. 

1. Our Commitment to Confidentiality and Diversity:

Wellness Recovery will maintain privacy according to state and federal regulations. Many of our policies are in place to secure our promise to confidential services. All patients are welcome, including those with no insurance. Our facility is nondiscriminatory and open to all races, creeds, sexual orientations, spiritual beliefs and socioeconomic status of clients. 

1. Our Integrated Service Model

Wellness Recovery will provide the following services, among others:

Short Term Rehabilitation:

• Medical assisted treatment

• Individual, group and family counseling

• Life Skills, Health Training

• Career Counseling

• Medical Management of Addiction and Behavioral Health Issues

• Holistic treatment to include yoga, exercise.

• Aftercare planning

Detoxification/Withdraw management:

• Medical management of addiction to detoxify and begin recovery process

• Individual counseling

• Group Therapy -Counseling process group

• Holistic treatment to include yoga, exercise

1. Client Satisfaction

Wellness Recovery routinely conducts client satisfaction surveys to assure a delivery of a high quality of care as well as identify areas for growth. Detailed results of 30 former client surveys are included in appendix 2. At the same time, WR values feedback. Every Thursday morning our Quality Improvement team meets to review client issues, suggestions and reviews current policies and procedures to improve care. The team is multi-disciplinary and comprised of the medical director, nursing director and all counselors. Length of client stay was at the highest level since facility opening. Success completion rates for both the withdraw management and residential treatment programs were also at an all-time high.

                                                         Demographic Report

Total Admissions:  343                                               Average Age:   34 years-old

Male:  190                                                                   Average Age:  39 years-old

Female: 153                                                                Average Age:   27 years-old

African American: 77

Hispanic: 9

White/Caucasian: 257

Other:  0

% below poverty line:  82%

Average admission days: 20

Total admission days: 6232

Successful completions:  159

*Pro-bono admissions: 11

PA Counties Served:  Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland, Lawrence, Butler, Greene, Allegheny

Community Outreach

Outreach activities occurred in Fayette, Westmoreland, Washington and Green Counties. In July, WR staff participated in the day long Community Block Party for Recovery held on Main St. in Uniontown. WR also hosted 4 graduate students for clinical field experience. 3 from Penn-Western University and 1 from, Duquesne University.  WR conducted 2 outreach visits to meet and discuss admission criteria, coordination of care, and referral procedures for the social work departments at Penn Highlands and Uniontown Hospitals. WR staffed night out events in August 2022 in Greene, Fayette, and Westmoreland Counties. WR continued a $2000 annual collegiate scholarship program for undergraduate athletes who articulate a sober lifestyle through Kutztown University. A $1000 donation was made to a local law enforcement agency to support their new K-9 program. Facility CEO, Tyler Tracy, serves as a member a of the Westmoreland County Opioid Collation. Finally, WR sponsored a local youth athletic team.

Management Team and Staffing

Medical Director: Caitlin Corbitt, MD, Board Certified Psychiatry

Nursing Director: Alicia Costabile, CRNP

Chief Operating Officer and Project Director: Tyler Tracy, B.S.

Clinical Director: Alexandra Lepold, M.S. 

Owners: Scott Tracy Ph.D.

CPA: Mike Wilson, Wilson Accounting Group

Certified Auditor: Wilke & Associates, CPA

Total employees: 23

Total nurses employed: 6

Total counselors: 7

Total counselor technicians: 9

Important notations and prospects for future

Addiction is a global pandemic that is not going away anytime soon. Wellness Recovery is committed to meeting that challenge as an ongoing mission for the future. 2023yielded an impressive increase in successful completion numbers and was our best financial year to date. At the same time, client satisfaction remained high with lower readmission rates as noted by our major funding providers, Carelon Healthcare and Community Care Behavioral Health. WR also now formally partners with the Centers for Excellence for ongoing referral and post discharge care of clients. There is always room for improvement. Goals this year include supporting  higher attendance at client follow-up visits with outpatient services post discharge.

                                                            Scott Tracy, Ph.D.