You open your doors at your new rehab center and within in a year you have become a millionaire. No degree or medical training required. Sounds too good to be true. Opening a rehab center is the new get rich quick business venture. But what is the catch?
How to become Licensed
According to the State of California Health and Human Services Agency Department Of Health Care Services you must have the following to obtain a legal license:
- An alcoholism or drug abuse recovery, treatment, or detoxification facility must be defined as any facility, place or building which provides 24-hour, residential, non-medical services in a group setting to adults.
- Must promote treatment and maintained recovery
That’s it!
Facilities may receive a certification from the state but that is completely voluntary. The advantage owners receive is a smooth processes while promoting to the potential clients within Health and Safety codes.
To be a treatment provider you must have a license given by the state your facility is located. You simply fill out an application and pay a fee. 120 days later your facility can issue medical treatment.
In their process of submitting their application, they must provide standard business and building information. Nowhere listed in the application is a background check. Previous investigation if they were once admitted in a treatment center is required. Investigation if they are listed as sex offenders is researched in the application process. Your son or daughter could be under 24 hr care of a sex offender or ex-con. During their most vulnerable time of their life they are unaware of who is taking care of them.
Who is monitoring them?
Praise God they must submit in their application the certifications their counselors have, but who is going to regulate it once their doors are open. An article produced by the OC Register “How some Southern California drug rehab centers exploit addiction” said, there are only 16 inspectors to regulate the licensed treatment centers in California. In Southern California alone there is 1,117 licensed treatment centers, not to mention all the unlicensed ones who pay thousands of dollars to have the best advertising and SEO on Google. It costs pennies for a full treatment center to throw a few bucks into a paid Google analytic to promote their facility. Just because they are first on Google doesn’t mean they are a quality treatment center.
What is really happening at most treatment facilities?
Also mentioned in the OC Register article is the shocking fact that on average 1 person dies every 2 weeks in a licensed treatment center. DIES. Not relapse but dies.
Drones are now used to drop off drugs secretly to patience in rehab. Clients are stripped of all paraphernalia and drugs upon arrival, but when addiction calls they find any way to please their addiction.
The 12 step program has a 5% success rate which is the most commonly used to program in the treatment industry.
How are they making money?
Once an owner has hired the qualified signatures for billing documents anyone can write up reports for insurance companies to pay out. This means that no one technically has to have licensed personnel on staff at these facilities to bill for over $100,000 per client. On average a treatment center charges $30,000 per client per month. A facility with 10 beds is making around $300,000 per month. They are not required to spend any of that money on treating the client.
What is the solution?
My Rehab Recovery helps you through the maze of finding the best treatment centers in Southern California. Out of the thousands of options we’ve searched far and wide for facilities that have integrity and the best interest in mind for the client. Check out our standards below! We believe that these standards are keys to lasting results on the client’s journey to recovery. All of the treatment centers that are a part of our network have proven to us that they qualify in each of the following areas:
- Authentic Vision
- Treatment Options
- Treatment Center’s Philosophy & Ideology
- Treatment Center Levels of Care
- Staff to Client Ratio
- Staff Unity
- Staff Quality
- Program Activities
- Program Success Rate
- Facility Quality & Cleanliness
We do the dirty work for you to make sure you, a family member or friend is receiving the licensed care they need to reclaim their life!