Valley Hope operates in seven states; CEO says expansion likely to continue
by Andy Marso, KHI News Service
Pat George would like to be put out of a job, but he unfortunately doesn’t envision that happening any time soon.
George is a former Kansas Department of Commerce secretary who is now president and CEO of Valley Hope Association, a nonprofit that provides inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment.
George is a recovering addict himself, 25 years sober, and would prefer that demand for Valley Hope’s services go down. But right now the opposite is happening, in part because of the country’s growing troubles with abuse of prescription opioid painkillers.
“We’re seeing more and more of that,” George said.
To meet that demand, Valley Hope announced this week that it will be expanding its operations in Norton with the help of a $500,000 grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.
The Logan-based foundation is dedicated to improving life in northwest Kansas, and the grant money will further ensure Valley Hope’s place as one of the area’s top employers. George said the organization has about 140 employees in the town now and could expand to as many as 200 within the next five to 10 years.
Doug Albin, a member of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation’s board of trustees, said the grant was given to Valley Hope for the benefits it provides to the community’s health as well as its economy.
“We really just liked their mission statement and the way they go about giving their care,” Albin said. “They really go about it holistically.”
Valley Hope began in Norton with a 15-bed inpatient treatment unit that opened in 1967 and remains in operation. The organization, which has its headquarters in Norton, has grown substantially in the decades since then.
Valley Hope now has 16 locations in seven states, treating about 400 people on an inpatient basis and up to another 4,000 as outpatients. It’s one of the largest addiction treatment providers in the country.
The grant money will be used to expand Norton’s treatment services, but George said it’s also intended to increase the support staff at the headquarters so that Valley Hope can offer its services in yet more states.
“We’re being asked to consider it,” he said.
While the opioid epidemic is driving some increased demand, George said alcoholism remains by far the largest source of substance abuse problems.
And there may be a silver lining in the growing demand for treatment. George said he believes some of it is due to more people admitting they need help as the societal stigma of addiction reduces.
“I think you see people reaching out for help that maybe before just died, basically,” he said.
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