Hygea Healthcare opens new Middle River rehabilitation facility

Hygea Healthcare celebrated the grand opening of a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center in Middle River with Gov. Wes Moore and many other state officials on Monday.

Doors opened to Hygea Middle River, the cutting-edge, 50-bed, 30,000 square-foot substance abuse treatment center located at 1210 Middle River Road. The facility’s goal is to disrupt the traditional approach to treating people with addiction.

Also in attendance were Special Secretary Emily Keller of the Maryland Office of Overdose Response; Baltimore County Deputy Administrative Officer Elisabeth Sachs; and former Baltimore County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins to join Moore and Robby Stempler, CEO and founder of Hygea Healthcare, in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“During our first nineteen months, my administration has made health care access a priority. We created an Office of Overdose Response to coordinate efforts and save lives. We directed $13.5 MILLION to pilot programs to improve access to behavioral health services,” Moore said in a statement. “We just carried out one of the most successful Medicaid renewal campaigns in the country. Maryland is committed to taking care of our people.”

“You cannot have a healthy state without a healthy population,” Moore continued. “At a time when our state faces disparities in substance dependence; at a time when opioids account for nearly 90 percent of overdose deaths in Maryland—our healthcare partners aren’t just pointing out the challenge, but are choosing to be part of the solution. All of us are touched by this crisis. It will take all of us to stop it. And together, we can – and we must.”

The Hygea Middle River facility provides Level 3.7 and 3.7WM ASAM-certified treatment programs, designed to meet the unique needs of each client. The campus is designed to be open and welcoming, with extensive green spaces to promote health and healing, while offering patients the privacy needed to begin the recovery process.

The basic definition of 3.7 and 3.7-WM level of care is a Medically Monitored Inpatient Withdrawal Management program in a non-hospital setting, but delivered by medical, nursing, mental health, and substance use clinicians who provide 24-hour medically monitored evaluation under doctor-approved policies, procedures, or clinical protocols.

The comprehensive Level 3.7 ASAM treatment program at Hygea includes “medical care and evidence-based activities aimed at improving motivation, enhancing readiness for change, building recovery skills, and preparing clients for transition to lower levels of longer-term care,” according to the press release. Hygea Middle River also takes a holistic approach to recovery, offering yoga, meditation, recreational therapy, and healthy eating programs.

“This project started with a vision. A vision to disrupt the current treatment approach and to create a building which expresses and defines who Hygea Healthcare is and what we offer,” Stempler said in a statement. “A facility which decades from now will stand as a beacon of what treatment should look like and how quality treatment can be delivered using whole person care and evidenced based practices. Technology will serve as a key driver to improve the way treatment is delivered. Treatment success is about outcomes and how recovery can be established and maintained by the community we serve. We are excited to open this center and begin helping people transform their lives and start their path of recovery.”