Drug and alcohol rehab in north Loveland opens doors
Facility opened its doors Feb. 9
When looking to make a change, drugand alcohol-addicted Coloradans need all of the help they can get, and besides family and friends, facilities licensed by the state of Colorado offer specialized treatment for addicts.
Nor thpoint Recover y Colorado is the latest facility in Loveland to provide that targeted care, opening its doors in Centerra just over a month ago.
Federal sur vey data indicates that 11.7% of Colorado residents over the age of 12, more than half a million people, grappled with a substance use disorder between
2017 and 2019.
But space in residential treatment programs is limited, with only 42 licensed in the northern part of the state. Detox programs, which help people going through the earliest stages of drug withdrawals, are even scarcer, with just four licensed in Northern Colorado.
“When Northpoint was looking for a place to establish and provide care, this was an easy choice because of the need,” Nor thpoint’s vice president for the Colorado market, Bill Snyder, said. “It’s common knowledge that there’s a shortage of behavioral health and addiction treatment services here.”
Before star ting with the Loveland branch of the treatment center that has several other locations in Idaho and Washington, Snyder helped treat youths and adults with mental health problems, mostly in the Denver metropolitan area.
Northpoint Recovery Colorado renovated the building off Kendall Parkway between Boyd Lake and Rocky Mountain avenues last year. It was built around 2017 to be a skilled nursing and physical rehabilitation facility but sat vacant for years before it was finally sold.
Snyder and spokeswoman Jen Marnowski
described the building’s original purpose as a good fit for the site’s new mission of behavioral health care and facilitating recover y.
“The rooms were already here, and so were the beds,” Marnowski said. “It’s wonder ful. It’s a really safe environment where people can come in and heal.”
Developers said in 2016 that they wanted the building to foster a “resort-like atmosphere.” In the months leading up to its Feb. 9 opening, Northpoint painted the interior, added walls and put other finishing touches on the rehab facility.
For Loveland patients and their families, their first impression of Northpoint will be the lobby — a warmly-furnished space fronted by large windows that allow in plenty of natural light.
“As big as it is, I think it feels cozy,” Marnowski said.
To the west of the lobby are some of the center’s group therapy rooms, which were also set up to provide outpatient care. Those in treatment may spend three to five hours of each day of the four-week program in group therapy, which primary therapist Meredith Vasa said is an “integral” part of the center’s treatment philosophy.
“It’s one thing for people to recognize what their issues are, but it’s another for them to have that give and take from one another and realize they’re not alone in their recovery journey,” she said.
In the groups that she runs, Vasa said she encourages patients to think of the goals they would be able to accomplish but for their addictions.
“They may be running from an addiction, but I want them to be running toward something,” she said.
Past the lobby in the center’s secure area are the center’s male and female wings, each capable of housing 32 people in private rooms, which Snyder said are a rarity for residential detox programs. A kitchen and cafeteria are located between the wings. Each wing is also outfitted with a small gym, where Marnowski said patients are able to access fitness and yoga programs.
“We want to treat the whole person here, body, mind and spirit,” Marnowski said. Since opening in February, the center has been treating about 20 people at a time.
Snyder said Northpoint plans to open a second facility in the south Fort Collins are by August focused on ser ving youths.
“We know there’s just a huge need for kiddo treatment,” he said. “There’s a few that offer it. Just very few.”
“Look at the pandemic right now too and how our mental health is affected, and we do know that kids’ mental health is incredibly affected as well,” Marnowski added. “So we’re excited to be of fering those ser vices too.”
“The passion that our organization and our staff have for the work we do is a testament of how we were able to navigate and open during COVID,” Snyder said.
Marnowski encouraged those with questions about the center to contact her at 970-580-0015.