May 5, 2023 3 min read

Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital will soon have an inpatient unit to help those beginning recovery from substance use disorder.

A $1 million commitment from CNX Foundation helped complete the construction of a 14-person, two-story substance recovery unit at the Monongahela facility. The unit will be the first of its kind in the region that provides this type of recovery care.

“Substance use disorder, and in particular the opioid epidemic, crosses all socioeconomic barriers – it has harmed rural and urban communities alike across Appalachia,” said Nick Deluliis, president and CEO, CNX Resources Corp. “We are investing this money because we believe assisting people in their recovery and helping them return to their families, workplaces and neighborhoods will have a positive impact on communities across the region.”

Construction on the unit has begun and is expected to be completed in late spring. Penn Highlands Mon Valley administration is recruiting staff for the unit. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place prior to patient admission.

Physicians, nursing staff, and therapists will be available 24 hours a day, as well as access to the emergency room, cardiac care unit and behavioral health and other lab and medical imaging services when immediate care is needed.

The 14 private inpatient rooms will include two with Americans with Disabilities Act access and two isolation/negative-pressure rooms.

Mimi Falbo, managing consultant for the project since its inception and former CEO of UPMC Braddock Hospital, said the grant supported completion of the construction and helped provide the matching funds.

A federal grant and Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program dollars from the state Office of Budget to the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County took care of the rest of the necessary funding.

“We wanted everything, from the design to the decor, to convey respect and hope, which are two elements people with this illness desperately need,” Falbo said.

Penn Highlands Mon Valley is working with the Mon Valley Opioid Coalition to ensure each patient who graduates from the substance recovery unit has a longer-term rehabilitation facility as their journey continues.

“We believe this support will make a tangible, impactful and local difference in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Deluliis said. “As an organization, we are dedicated to tackling challenging problems in the communities we call home.”

Peter Adamo, regional market president Southwest Region for Penn Highlands, called the support from CNX Resources “invaluable.”

“This opioid crisis affects not only the patient, but those we consider ‘extended patients’ – their family members,” he said. “If we do not turn this crisis around, it will continue to devastate entire communities across our region.”