How to Open a Substance Abuse Facility

Opening a residential substance abuse facility is an admirable and lofty goal. Regardless of your reason for opening a facility, you must plan properly to achieve your goals. Obtaining financing, getting approval from the state health department, undergoing construction, and hiring necessary staff are a few of the challenging aspects of opening a residential substance abuse facility.

Instructions

How to Open a Substance Abuse Facility

• 1

  Create a treatment model. Various treatment models are effective, though some practitioners prefer some over others. Twelve-step program models are popular, though other people prefer a purely cognitive behavioral approach. Be certain to research what type of treatment model will be most effective with the type of addictions and populations that you plan to treat.

• 2

  Create a business plan for the substance abuse facility that you want to open. Though a substance abuse facility's primary mission is to help substance abusers achieve sobriety, it is also a business and needs a sound business plan.

• 3

  Obtain funding. Grants and loans are two of the most widely sought after sources of funding. Grants are funded by government and private entities. A thorough business plan will greatly assist in applying for grants and loans.

• 4

  Build, buy, or arrange to rent a structure to house the facility. Finding or constructing the perfect facility can take several months, so start planning early.

• 5

  Obtain approval from your state to operate a facility. Your business plan and treatment model will come in handy at this point in time.

• 6

  Contract the services of the substance abuse treatment facility with as many health insurance companies as possible. Most people are unable to pay for treatment out-of-pocket and will be using insurance coverage as a means to cover the costs of treatment. Therefore, having a contract with as many insurance companies as possible will broaden the patient base that the facility is able to serve.

• 7

  Hire staff to run the facility as well as to provide treatment to the patients. Ensure that all staff are thoroughly screened and that only qualified applicants are hired.

• 8

  Advertise the treatment facility in community bulletins, online, and with outpatient therapists that may be interested in referring their patients to the facility. Ensure that all pertinent information, such as the type of facility, cost of treatment, insurance carriers accepted, addictions treated, and contact information is available on the advertisements.