Pipeline: Spero Open Three Clinics; Innovative New Autism Centers

Spero Health expands footprint

Spero Health continues to add new facilities to its fold, as the outpatient substance use disorder (SUD) provider has opened a new facility in Tennessee along with two more in Kentucky.

The Tennessee clinic is located outside of Knoxville in Lenoir City. Individuals can pay for services by using TennCare and most insurance plans. According to a press release from Spero Health, the provider fast-tracked the opening of the Lenoir City clinic due to the high number of opioid use disorder (OUD) deaths in the state.

Meanwhile, the new Kentucky facilities are located in Elizabethtown — which is outside of Louisville — and in RIchmond, which is about 110 miles east of Louisville. Both Kentucky clinics also accept most insurance plans along with Medicaid.

All three clinics provide a combination of telehealth and in-person treatment.

Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, Spero Health operates over 50 clinics across Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Virginia. It is privately owned by Health Velocity Capital, the Heritage Group, Frist Cressey Ventures and South Central, Inc.

WellSpan Health opens behavioral health clinic

York, Pennsylvania-based WellSpan Health has opened a new clinic in its home city to provide care to individuals dealing with mental health conditions and SUDs.

The Specialized Treatment and Recovery Team — also known as START — employs 25 workers. It offers screenings, assessments and diagnoses of mental health conditions and SUDs.

START provides patient-centered planning, psychiatric rehabilitation, crisis mental health services, peer support and intensive community-based care for veterans. Additionally, START utilizes a continuum of care with approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy, medication-assisted therapy (MAT), motivational interviewing and illness recovery also available.

The START program began offering virtual services last December because of the pandemic. To date, it has seen over 400 individuals, according to a press release by WellSpan announcing the clinic’s opening.

WellSpan said that the clinic — which also provides screenings for food and housing insecurity, along with referrals to support services — is the first of its kind in south central Pennsylvania.The not-for-profit provides services at various locations in nine counties across south central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

New ABA center breaks ground

Oxford Recovery Center, a Brighton, Michigan-based provider of cognitive-based therapies to children and adults, has broken ground at its main campus in Green Oak Township for an autism care center.

The new center will provide applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ABA is widely considered to be a gold standard of care.

The center will contain a simulated village where children can learn about interacting in real-life environments, according to the Livingston Daily. The simulation includes features like a grocery store, a dentist’s office, a salon and a park, in addition to a road with curbs and sidewalks where children can ride tricycles and bicycles.

The $10 million expansion of Oxford’s main campus wil more than double its existing size of 32,000 square feet.

In addition to its main campus, Oxford operates two other suburban Detroit locations — an ABA center in Brighton that simulates summer camp activities, along with a center in Troy.

First-of-its-kind autism center opens

A new adult autism center has opened outside of Salt Lake City. It’s the first of its kind in Utah, according to a press release from Big-D Construction, a Salt Lake City company that was a builder of the site. 

The Adult Autism Center for Lifetime Learning in Murray is operated by Valley Behavioral Health. It provides educational support and ABA therapy for adults on the spectrum.

The center offers a vocational skills training program, along with programs in areas such as culinary arts, fitness, agricultural and medical curriculum.

The two-story Adult Autism Center for Lifetime Learning has nearly 15,000 square feet and sits on a larger property measuring 51,690 square feet.

Youth psychiatric facility opens its doors

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has opened a new standalone youth psychiatric facility in Nampa.

State Hospital West, which is located west of Boise, will serve up to 16 adolescents ages 12 to 17. It will employ 51 individuals.

The facility — which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year — is situated on the grounds of the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center. It is designed to be self-contained, with all education, meals, recreation and lodging provided on site.

Previously, adolescents in southern Idaho who needed intensive comprehensive behavioral health services were referred to a unit at State Hospital South in Blackfoot. Now, that unit will be converted into a high-risk facility for adults who are committed by the state of Idaho.