Four local organizations have submitted letters of intent expressing interest in operating a facility out of the two buildings the county Hospital District bought in the 600 block of 10th Street just outside the Vero city limits last December.
The proposals envisioned using the taxpayer-owned buildings for a substance abuse treatment facility focusing on public safety personnel; a “recovery and workplace development” facility for adults and transitional age youths; an entry facility for those not knowing where to go for treatment; and a facility for treating those with medical detox problems.
The four respondents to the Hospital District’s September invitation seeking submissions of up to a 10 pages summarizing what their group would like to do with the property, along with a three-year pro forma business plan, were: New Horizons of the Treasure Coast, Rite Life Services, Thrive (formerly the Substance Awareness Center) and PUR Health & Wellness.
The Hospital District made the major real estate purchase a year ago without first developing a business plan for its use.
An inspection report with more than 100 pages of needed repairs to the abandoned buildings was also not fully examined by the seven elected trustees prior to closing on the property, and they were not fully informed before the purchase of county zoning restrictions prohibiting delivery of any healthcare or medical services on the site.
District staffer Kate Voss said that based upon the initial letters of interest, it would appear that two of the four organizations would need to seek a zoning change from the county if their plan ultimately prevailed, but it looked like two probably would not need a zoning change.
Due to these factors, and resistance from some neighbors to a sober home in their backyards, the Hospital District has come under fire for this use of taxpayer funds.
Staff did not provide Hospital District trustees copies of the proposal packets ahead of the Oct. 22 chairman’s meeting, so there was no informed discussion on the matter last week.
At least one of the interested entities informally told district staff they would prefer to purchase the property rather than lease it, so if an attractive offer comes to the district trustees and the taxpayers can recoup the $4 million and free those funds to invest in other programs or reduce property taxes, that might be the best possible outcome.
“I would be happy to hear an offer. Sure. And then we could decide whether or not it’s excess property and take it from there,” Trustee Paul Westcott said.
In its letter of intent, New Horizons, a nonprofit serving the Treasure Coast since 1958, said it wanted to creating a multi-service substance abuse center dedicated to serving an often overlooked group – public safety personnel.
Its target population for “substance use disorder and behavioral health services” would be police, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, corrections and emergency dispatch personnel, with “priority given to the highest, most intensive level of care for First Responders with more severe and co-occurring mental health conditions.”
Since most or all of these professionals would be covered by private insurance, reimbursements would make up a large chunk of the facility’s revenues, subsidized with philanthropy and grants.
New Horizons proposed it be given a $1 per year lease by the Hospital District, with a 10-month timeline to open the facility.
Rite Life Services, founded in 2021 in Port St. Lucie with Treasure Coast-wide operations, describes itself as a “peer-run, peer-led nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals in recovery through training, mentorship, and workforce development.”
It proposed to operate a Peer Recovery and Workforce Development Center with a target population of “adults and transitional-age youth affected by substance use disorders, co-occurring conditions, and medical conditions who may or may not have experienced being unsheltered.”
Rite Life proposed it be given a non-escalating five-year, renewable lease, and asked the Hospital District to fund services on a fee basis for qualified low-income or uninsured patients. Those fees, combined with state opioid settlement funds, philanthropy and other contract work, would round out its expected $450,000 budget the first year, with anticipated growth to $580,000 in year three.
Thrive, a Vero nonprofit organization with a 35-year track record in substance abuse, proposed operating a round-the-clock intake center for individuals seeking help for substance abuse.
“Currently, residents and families seeking help for substance use disorders report not knowing where to access services,” Thrive said, and wind up using “high-cost crisis services such as the Behavioral Health Center or (hospital) emergency departments.”
The organization would use $600,000 from opioid settlement funds, plus grants from local private foundations to pay for what is not collected from Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. Thrive proposed a rent abatement from the Hospital District for the first three years, with fair market rent starting in year four.
PUR Health & Wellness, which opened in Vero Beach in 2021 but lists top staff with decades of experience, stated in its letter, “Indian River County residents need a full continuum of care” to address substance use issues, and said that while “currently Cleveland Clinic is managing many medical detox patients,” there are no resources for placement within the county.
That assertion of need must be examined by the Hospital District, as Cleveland Clinic staff told Vero Beach 32963 in March that substance abuse disorders make up less than 1 percent of the Behavioral Health Center’s caseload.
PUR Health & Wellness said it expected to charge up to $600 per day for detox services, with discounted rates to hospital district-qualified low-income patients. If chosen, PUR would pay hundreds of thousands per year to the Hospital District and turn an 11 percent annual profit.
A formal Request for Proposals process is expected to occur down the road.
