NEWFANE, N.Y. — A new place for those seeking addiction treatment in Western New York held a ribbon-cutting Thursday in the Town of Newfane.
The Recovery Center of Niagara has been 15 months in the making and will begin accepting patients in early December.
It will be the only 'in-patient' or 'bedded' facility in the immediate area other than a few in Lockport according to the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports treatment dashboard. The facility has taken over part of the former Newfane Hospital.
WEB EDIT: The Recovery Center of Niagara is not the only facility of its kind in Niagara County as stated in the on-air story. The nearest teen in-patient facility to Newfane is located in West Seneca, but that is not the case for adults.
"Western New York has really suffered from opiate overdoses as well as deaths," said Donna Mae Depola, the president of The Recovery Center of Niagara.
Depola, a downstate native who fought her own battle with the disease of addiction for many years, runs several other facilities around the state. She said she picked Newfane for her latest venture because of the lack of options in the more rural area.
"Each patient that walks in here has a different issue, and we want to serve each one independently so we can make sure everyone is taken care of properly," Depola said.
In a recent analysis by the New York State Comptroller's Office, Niagara County had the second-highest rate of overdose deaths per 100,000 people between 2010-2020.
The report did not provide a ranking of in-patient facility capacity per 100,000 people by county, but Niagara had the lowest outpatient treatment capacity per 100,000 people, other than those counties entirely without an outpatient option.
"It's an important piece into our community to help those that are suffering from this addiction we have a lot of our family members, friends our community members that are struggling," Newfane Town Supervisor John Syracuse said.
Syracuse added he was glad to see the former hospital being reused and some of the prior staff returning to help those struggling with addiction.
Depola said their team of nurses and treatment specialists will be taking the next month to get up to speed and ready for patients in December. The Recovery Center of Niagara will start with 40 beds available but could increase to 80 or more depending on staffing ratios.
Annemarie Perrotto, who lost her son to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in 2011 said at Thursday's ribbon cutting that facilities like the one in Newfane can make difference in keeping others alive.
"As long as the community supports it, as long as law enforcement sees it and then brings [people struggling with addiction] not to jail but to a facility and the staff is supportive, yes," Perrotto said.