BrightView addiction treatment center helps those in the Valley with substance use disorder

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – BrightView, an addiction treatment center, has 15 locations around Virginia and noticed a need for services in the Shenandoah Valley. It opened a Harrisonburg location in May and has been helping people work toward their recovery.

“There’s been pent-up demand. There’s a lack of resources and so typically, when we open our doors, there are folks waiting in the parking lot and that was the case here in Harrisonburg,” Mick Ruggiero, the Director of Outreach for Northern Virginia with BrightView, said.

Right now throughout Virginia, BrightView is treating more than 2,500 patients, with just over 70 people seeking help in Harrisonburg. There is no waitlist and people can begin treatment the same day.

“We treat every person as an individual,” Ruggiero said. “Stigma is something that we don’t want any part of.”

It offers a holistic approach to those with substance abuse disorder.

“An individual that comes to us will receive medically assisted treatment if necessary, but along with that they are required to have group and individual counseling which is provided here right on site,” Ruggiero said. “Folks that are in active recovery are involved in counseling services. It’s very helpful to see it through the eyes of someone who’s gone through it.”

In addition to that, case managers can help minimize additional barriers, including housing, employment, transportation, help with insurance issues and connect patients to additional services in the community.

“If you’re within 25 miles of our clinic, we can get you here and get you home,” Ruggiero said. “That’s been very helpful in accessing a larger population of individuals that need our help that has just had barriers to get it.”

The final piece of the BrightView puzzle is an on-site pharmacy that will dispense FDA-approved medications that can be utilized in the treatment of some patients.

“Same day they can be treated and dosed and leave with their medications which can be very valuable in terms of a relapse scenario,” Ruggiero said.

The pharmacy will be opening in the coming months. Ruggiero said BrightView accepts almost all commercial insurance, including Medicaid, and care coordinators can help those without insurance try to acquire it.

If you walk into the Harrisonburg clinic, located at 16 Pleasant Hill Road, before 3 p.m. on weekdays, you can be seen and receive treatment the same day.

You can simply walk in, schedule an appointment and transportation on the BrightView website, or call its 24/7 phone line at (833) 510-4329.

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