The Osage Nation Primary Residential Treatment (PRT) Center is among America’s best addiction treatment centers, according to a Newsweek award recognizing their programs and services. Following the award, the new PRT complex is opening in phases, bringing a high-quality experience to Osages recovering from addiction.
Soon, they will open their doors to all Native Americans in need of PRT services, but for the time being CEO Mark Rogers noted they are coordinating care and providing case management services “as [we] continue to scale up all services and program offerings, with new staff and new curriculum.”
According to Rogers, that new curriculum is for a 90-day program rather than a 60-day program and the new curriculum is also evidence-based.
“The new curriculum is designed for a 90-day treatment program and it is evidence-based … [and integrates] cultural groups, training, traditions and coping skills,” said Rogers.
Limited capacity
For their full-scaled opening, the PRT is waiting on the tribe’s development office to finalize remaining items needed for their permanent certificate of occupancy from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. This certificate will in turn allow the PRT to bill services.
Their current certificate of occupancy is temporary and will expire on Nov. 30. Due to its “temporary” status, the PRT cannot currently bill insurance providers.
“We are at limited capacity because of the temporary certificate of occupancy,” Rogers said. “Medicare, Medicaid and other payers of services will not allow you to bill with a temporary certificate.”
The PRT will open at full capacity in a matter of months, once they receive their permanent certificate of occupancy, pending installation of “specialized components,” said Rogers, which he specified have not yet arrived on site.
The Osage Nation Counseling Center (ONCC) runs the PRT, and they were not able to both move into their new building and service PRT patients in their old building because “of moving furniture, installing new equipment, disposing of old or outdated equipment and furniture,” and more, said the CEO.
No lapse in service
However, Rogers said there was “no lapse in service” during the moving period. “People who called, we took their information, worked with our partners, got them a case manager, and got a bed for them. Everybody that had an identified need was serviced,” he said.
It will be a matter of months before they open fully, said Rogers, who hopes the fire marshal’s review and the closing of contracts will be smooth, leading to a full-capacity opening shortly after Nov. 30.
The billing structure is at the root of the phased opening, Rogers explained, because the PRT is only partially funded via a “compact,” and this fact makes third party billing crucial to all Osage Nation Health System operations.
The board that oversees the Osage health system, the Si-Si A-Pe-Txa, decided to open inpatient services to Osage clients with the PRT because “we felt it was time,” said Rogers. They opened the PRT even though the Osage health system will have to cover its costs because of the billing stipulations related to the temporary certificate.
The ONCC and PRT have received some criticism, Rogers implied, because of narratives that they ceased services and that the complex opening experienced elongated delays.
Such delays were “unavoidable,” Rogers said, as he stressed that there was no lapse in care for ONCC or PRT clients. “Every expressed need has been met, either with direct services or coordinated care with community partners and other tribes.”
Youth shelter delay
One building at the PRT complex actually won’t open on the same timeline as the rest of the campus, however. That is the youth shelter, a primary residential treatment center for adolescents. This youth PRT is further delayed because of regulations mandating that the shelter must be separate from other recovery buildings not designated for youth.
As a result of realizing the specialized needs for the youth-dedicated PRT, the programming for that center is now undergoing staff restructuring. The center will also be outfitted with a fence, to ensure that it is inaccessible to non-youth PRT buildings and staff.
This compliance process will require FBI fingerprint clearances for those who staff the youth PRT, said Rogers. The staff will be specially background checked, and there will be no crossover with staff who work in other PRT buildings. These requirements apply to all types of staff members, from housekeeping and maintenance to program managers, said Rogers.
“It has to be isolated, all of the people that work in the other buildings cannot work in that building,” Rogers explained.
Even with final logistical hurdles, Rogers said the delay on all PRT facilities should not be long. “We’re not talking years, we’re talking a couple of months, as these things have already been in the works.”
Quality service
While those needing residential treatment await the phased PRT opening, non-Osage Native American patients who need help will be serviced as they have in the interim, said Rogers. That is, through referrals, case management, coordinated care or outpatient counseling.
“Several patients initially deemed appropriate for inpatient services have actually healed and been helped via ONCC’s outpatient programs,” said Rogers.
With those resolved cases, the health system is reporting “success stories” of patients overcoming personal struggles with addiction, Rogers said.
With the new Osage Nation PRT Center, the health system is expecting more of the same to come. They invite those in need to call at (539) 212-2499.
