MARTINS FERRY — U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson touted the benefits of East Ohio Regional Hospital’s detox and residential program for the Ohio Valley during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility on Friday afternoon.

Public officials and hospital staff gathered as EORH unveiled its new Access Ohio 30-Day Residential Program for substance abuse and recovery, which goes along with its Medical Detox Program.

While EORH will provide a three-day medical detox for patients, Access Ohio will provide the residential program named Access Residential, an inpatient program focusing on adults with substance abuse issues that is located inside the hospital.

The 30-day program will provide group therapy, individual therapy, medical management and case management, as well as “intensive outpatient therapy and medical management.”

Johnson, R-Ohio, said the opening of the new program is “very important” to the area.

“We’ve got an addiction scourge that’s sweeping across the country. We’ve got fentanyl overdoses, they are going through the roof. Heroine, meth, you name it. And who are the people who are falling victim? It’s people that are struggling with high inflation, can’t pay their bills. It’s a scourge on our region,” he said. “And so this is a really good thing. … We need it here in this community, and I’m sure glad to be here today to open this one up.”

Johnson said the facilities are vital to helping people struggling with addiction to heal mentally and physically.

“As much as I can I try to help the addiction rehab centers understand how important it is to treat the whole person, not just the dependency, because if we don’t get to the underlying problems that drove the dependency in the first place, oftentimes recidivism and they’re right back into that place,” he said, adding that faith-based treatment centers have effective rates above 90%.

Johnson said he is looking into how federal funding can be used to assist in the mental health care of residents.

“We have a mental health crisis and a lot of the addiction crises are mental health crises. So (I’m) looking into providing all the help that we can,” he added.

Bernie Albertini, administrator and chief operating officer at EORH, said they have a “two-part system” with the initial response being the medical detox for people detoxing from drugs or alcohol withdrawal, and then the residential program to continue treatment for clients.

“It’s kind of just getting back to life without the substances. It’s a really great program. If you look at our community right now, substance abuse is a really big problem. When we step back and think where do we see ourselves and what should we be doing for our community, this was at the top of the list. So we’re really happy to get this started and serve the patients,” he said.

Albertini said after evaluating the needs of the community, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment were at the forefront.

“It’s a national issue and it’s a big issue in the Ohio Valley. … We just want to take care of people, he added.

He noted that the emergency room sees overdose patients almost every day.

“Fentanyl is really big right now. … It’s a huge problem and it’s scary. It’s an addiction. We’re here to help and it’s a much needed service,” he said.

Albertini said the medical detox has been active since the hospital reopened in 2021 and can accommodate 18-20 patients. The residential center has been open for around two months now and has 23 beds.

“So far it has been really good, it’s been well received by the patients and the caretakers,” he said. “… I think it’s really important for everybody. There’s a stigma behind addiction and it’s just like getting the flu, it’s an illness and we have to treat it and we’ll treat it here. There’s no stigmas or anything like that, we just want to help people get better and get back to their families.”

Dr. John Johnson, owner and CEO of Access Ohio and EORH, stated in a release that he is proud to launch these programs for residents of the Ohio Valley.

Martins Ferry Councilman Jack Regis Sr. said the opening of the expansion of services is encouraging to see.

“For us, it’s encouraging to see the hospital grow and to secure a future in Martins Ferry. It’s reassuring for the investment that everybody made that it’s going to be here for a while,” he said.

Those struggling with addiction can enter the programs by either going to the emergency room of the hospital or contacting Access Ohio at 614-367-7700.