Every morning when I drive through Cumberland Heights’ arched gates, I am thankful for the opportunity to help patients and families “recover life.” And every night when I leave, I am reminded to “Let go and let God,” and am grateful for the thousands of little things our staff members do each day as they walk new paths of recovery with our patients.
What our entire Board of Directors and I appreciate most is the generosity of the Cumberland Heights community – donors and volunteers alike – who support our mission. Throughout the pages of this report, you will see how much Cumberland Heights has grown since we started in 1966 with only three patients and a handful of staff.
Everything we accomplish is because of donors like you and the hundreds of others who generously give to Cumberland Heights every year. Thank you for helping change the lives of our current patients, families, alumni and all those who will seek our help in the years to come.
Everything we accomplish is because of donors like you and the hundreds of others who generously give to Cumberland Heights every year.
What gifts we all have the most precious of which is each other — that we have one another and can help one another. Miracles happen, and they happen to us.
With the addition of Spring Hill, Cumberland Heights will have 11 outpatient recovery centers across the state.
“Outpatients recovery programs are flexible to meet the needs of professionals and busy parents working through drug and alcohol addiction issues,” said Cumberland Heights CEO Jay Crosson. “We’re excited about the opportunity to serve Spring Hill and the great team serving patients directly in the community.”
Cumberland Heights admission counselors are available 24 hours a day at 1-800-6464
NASHVILLE, TENN. – Sept. 6, 2018 – Cumberland Heights is pleased to announce the hiring of Nick Hayes, M.S., LMFTA (TX), LCDC (TX) as Director of Clinical Research and Outcomes and Greg Snodgrass as Regional Outreach Coordinator.
Nick Hayes – Director of Clinical Research and OutcomesHayes will focus on efficacious treatment protocols, predictive analytics, feedback-informed treatment procedures and collaborations with institutions of higher education for all of Cumberland Heights, including inpatient and outpatient treatment programs.
As Regional Outreach Coordinator, Snodgrass will serve as the liaison between Cumberland Heights and a variety of referral sources to ensure seamless and timely admissions as well as treatment and continuing care services for patients and families seeking help with addiction.
Greg Snodgrass, Regional Outreach Coordinator“Nick and Greg have skills that reinforce why Cumberland Heights has consistently remained a nationally renowned treatment center for more than 50 years,” said CEO Jay Crosson. “The research overseen by Nick is critical to demonstrating the effectiveness of our treatment programs and sustaining – and growing – our authority in the industry. Likewise, Greg’s ability to build referral networks ensures that we are reaching patients and families who need help recovering life from the grips of drug and alcohol addiction.”
Hayes holds dual licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist-Associate (LMFTA-TX) as well as a Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC-TX). He has advanced training in quantitative methods, neuro-analysis and systems theory.
Hayes is a doctoral student within the Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy Graduate Program at Texas Tech University, where he has also served as a student member in university’s Center for Collegiate Recovery Communities for the past seven years. He had worked with the Cumberland Heights Foundation while pursuing his degree.
Like many of Cumberland Heights’ staff, Snodgrass is living in recovery. He is actively involved in 12-step programs and sponsors men in recovery.
Snodgrass completed treatment 14 years ago and has since dedicated his life to helping others struggling with addiction. He received a scholarship to return to higher education at the Collegiate Recovery at Texas Tech University. He was then responsible for the five-year design and implementation of the Collegiate Recovery at the University of Alabama and served as director of the program.
He also served as National Director of Corporate Relations and Sponsorship for the Association of Recovery in Higher Education, where he oversaw the fundraising, donor relations and organizational growth for the association. Most recently, he worked as a sober companion for Rick Parrish and Jamie Eater at Sober Escorts Inc. and John West of The Guest House in Ocala, Fla.
Snodgrass spends his free time with his wife and daughter traveling to horse shows across the southeast with their thoroughbreds, Harley and Pickles.
About Cumberland Heights
Cumberland Heights’ mission is to transform lives, giving hope and healing to those affected by alcohol or drug addiction. As a non-profit organization, Cumberland Heights is committed to the approximately 2,500 men, women and adolescents it serves every year and the communities where its facilities are located. The organization has followed the teachings of the 12 Steps since its founding in 1966.
Original Article By: Stephanie Langston, WKRN News Channel 2, Nashville
Posted: Aug 02, 2018 05:55 PM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A family is sharing their story of heartache after losing their son to addiction. Now, they are doing what they can to raise awareness about the crisis.
VIEW THE GREG WITTHAUER STORY
It was a battle the Witthauer’s faced for years. They told News 2 despite numerous rehab facilities, the disease was too powerful for their son Greg. “I lost my brother to this disease, but losing my child was much worse,” Karen Witthauer said with tears in her eyes.
At the age of 13, her son Greg had his first taste of drugs. “They smoked marijuana on the beach and then it was head to the ground from there.”
His use increased, and after being dismissed from the soccer team for a drug offense he entered rehab at 15. But he soon relapsed. “He was trying to find something that he could control that would make him feel better. The whole progression, he went through cocaine and from opiates to pills to heroin,” Greg’s father Mark told News 2.
The struggle didn’t get any easier. Several rehabs later and some legal issues finally gave Greg some clean time, almost two years.
“He was working, and he was doing really really well. He bought a car and his job was stable and he was really proud of himself, you could tell,” said Karen. However, a back injury landed Greg a Lortab prescription and he was back using fulltime. “He only had 10. He gave him a prescription for 10 and that was all it took,” stated Karen.
The Witthauer’s said he was never able to put together a long stretch of sobriety again. This time he spent three months in a Florida rehab. “and he was gone within two weeks,” said his mom.
Greg was found in his car near Percy Priest. He had overdosed on heroin likely laced with meth.
“We knew in our hearts that he had probably overdosed somewhere but even though you still get that phone call and it’s like the whole world just starts spinning around,” explained his father. Today Karen wears a bracelet that reads “always have heart,” the same tattoo her son had across his chest. “Even though he had the disease of addiction, I was very proud of my child, very proud of the man that he was, I was proud of his heart, of how he treated people.”
In his sober time, they said Greg wanted to help others struggling with addiction. Now they hope to carry on his mission.
The Witthauer’s started a fundraiser called always have a heart in their son’s honor that goes to support those in treatment.
This Year’s Concert for Cumberland Heights Promises to be a Party at the Ryman Auditorium
‘Here Come the Mummies’ to bring the funk and the fun to this popular fundraiser
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – July 10, 2018 – The Concert for Cumberland Heights on Oct. 2, 2018, will be a fun, memorable night of great music at the historic Ryman Auditorium. This annual concert will feature “Here Come the Mummies” and is the biggest fundraiser of the year to benefit the John Hiatt Fund for Adolescent and Young Adult Treatment at Cumberland Heights. Additionally, some of proceeds will go toward construction of Cumberland Heights’ new youth facility, ARCH Academy, to be competed in 2019.
“Here Come The Mummies” (HCTM) bills themselves as an eight-piece funk-rock band of 5000 year-old Egyptian Mummies with a one-track mind. Their “Terrifying Funk from Beyond the Grave” is sure to get you into the seasonal spirit.
Since their discovery HCTM has been direct support for P-Funk, Al Green, Mavis Staples, KC and the Sunshine Band, and Cheap Trick; rocked Super Bowl Village; become a regular on The Bob and Tom Show; played massive festivals like Summer Camp, Common Ground, Voodoo Fest, Musikfest, Suwannee Hulaween, and Riverbend; and sold tickets by the thousands across large swaths of North America.
The concert will start at 7:30PM. Cumberland Heights will also host a VIP pre-party (ticket details below) for donors from 5PM to 7PM.
Proceeds of the event support Cumberland Heights’ adolescent and young adult treatment programs and have raised more than $3 million in the past 21 years. With a treatment plan based in the 12 Steps, these programs help patients set goals for life-long recovery.
“The Concert for Cumberland Heights is always very popular with the community and our supporters,” said Cumberland Heights’ Chief Marketing & Development Officer Martha Farabee. “This year is going to be such a blast. ‘Here Come the Mummies’ is such a fun band, I predict we will all be out of our seats dancing and singing along for much of the night.”
Here’s what “Here Come the Mummies” have to say about themselves: “Some say we were cursed. Others claim we are reincarnated Grammy-Winning studio musicians. Regardless, HCTM’s mysterious personas, cunning song-craft, and unrelenting live show will bend your brain, and melt your face. Get ready, for ‘Here Come The Mummies!'”
Anyone who was not familiar with Laura Baugh will certainly never forget her after Reaching New Heights. The engaging professional golfer and author of Out of the Rough: An Intimate Portrait of Laura Baugh and Her Sobering Journey shared her courageous story of recovery to a packed room at the annual luncheon, which benefits the Women’s Program at Cumberland Heights.
Co-chairs Monica McDougall and Sally Nesbitt welcomed a crowd of familiar faces to Hillwood Country Club before the presentation of the Sheila Keeble Award. “I love getting to brag on my friend!” proclaimed Louise Mandrell as she handed the award to Janice Lovvorn, who has been involved with the organization for 22 years.
Opening with “I’m Laura, and I’m definitely an alcoholic,” the guest speaker had the audience immersed in her tale that was honest, grim and, at times, amusing. Always a golfer, Laura was three years old when she won the first of five national pee-wee championships. She burst onto the national scene when she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion at 16 in 1971 and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1973. At age 24, she had her first drink, and then “for years, I was always pregnant or drinking,” said the mother of seven children. It wasn’t until she nearly died from internal bleeding caused by heavy drinking that Laura was determined to quit. Now celebrating 22 years of sobriety, she zealously embraces her life, family and health.
Since becoming sober, Laura has developed into a new kind of champion. She supports programs for abused women and for women in recovery. Her love of golf remains steadfast, and she helped establish the U.S. Senior Women’s Open with the inaugural championship to be played this July. After delivering such inspiring words at Reaching New Heights, Laura has a contingent of Nashville fans rooting for her in more ways than one.
On Thursday, April 26, Cumberland Heights broke ground on ARCH Academy, an addiction treatment center for teen boys slated to open in summer 2019. (Photo: Kelly Fisher, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee)
The 67-acre site in Pegram, once home to a bed and breakfast, will become ARCH Academy, or Adolescent Recovery of Cumberland Heights , at 1062 Highway 70.Cumberland Heights also treats drug and alcohol addiction in adult men and women on its campus at 8283 River Road Pike in Nashville.The total cost of the project is estimated at $8.1 million, including the purchase of the property, construction, renovation, infrastructure and other costs, according to information from Cumberland Heights.
Cumberland Heights Chief Executive Officer Jay Crosson said with three new builds and three renovations of current structures on the Cheatham site, the goal is to open the ARCH Academy by summer 2019.
In its first year, the new campus is expected to serve 84 teens, according to information from Cumberland Heights.
The site will include two residence halls, a dining facility, a private high school and more. The campus and adolescent program staff will offer 12-step recovery, clinical therapy and other services.
Rendering of the New ARCH Academy Residence HallThe location is also an “ideal environment” for hiking, mountain biking and trail rides, as well as engaging in fishing, pottery, service work and more in Pegram, a Cumberland Heights news release states.
“When you work with adolescents, they don’t respond to typical therapy, sitting across from them and just talking; you have to engage them,” Adolescent Program Director Dean Porterfield said. “You have to get them thinking, and this environment’s going to be perfect for that…It’s exciting. (It’ll) save lives.”
Crosson said the plan to open the new facility has been in the works since 2015 with plans to use it for the adolescent program, which initially launched in 1985. Since then, he said that teens accounted for approximately 10 percent of the Cumberland Heights population.
The new location will allow a length of stay of 60 days to six months; the current adolescent program only lasts up to 30 days with some extended care options, according to Cumberland Heights’ website.
ARCH Academy will also increase capacity to 30 teens from about 17 at its main campus.
Crosson said he wanted to be “good neighbors” to Cheatham, and Porterfield expressed interest in community involvement, noting that service is emphasized to those in the program.
“We want to be part of the community, (and) we want to be a resource for the community,” Porterfield said. “We also want to do our part to prevent adolescents from needing to come here, if we can do that.
“We’re just as much about prevention as we are (about) treating the kids that unfortunately have suffered from the disease of addiction.”
“I don’t think I’d be breathing if it wasn’t for Cumberland Heights and Dean (Porterfield),” he said. “I’m grateful for this place and I think the things that they’re doing is remarkable.”
Norton was 16 when he arrived at Cumberland Heights in 2012 to confront his addiction. He recalled first using drugs at 12 years old, and the problem continued until he overdosed in October 2012.
After that, he agreed to seek treatment.
“When I was at Cumberland Heights, I was really able to find myself as a person,” Norton said. “They equipped me with the tools to do the right things when I got out in order to be a part of society and not only be sober, but be a better man.”
Norton completed the program at Cumberland Heights and returned home, graduated high school, got accepted into college and landed a job.
He said he owes all of that to his treatment at Cumberland Heights. He’s hopeful that the staff and the new campus will change lives for others struggling with addiction.
“Without it, many young people (might not) be here,” Porterfield said of the adolescent program and ARCH Academy. “I think it’s important that we have a place to be able to just pull them away from the day-to-day stressors, and help them to get to know themselves and set them on a track…There’s nothing better. We save lives.”
Original Article By: Nashville Post Posted On: 04/20/2018
Cumberland Heights officials led by CEO Jay Crosson will next week formally launch construction work on another facility for adolescents in alcohol and drug addiction recovery. The nonprofit will break ground Thursday in Pegram — just west of Bellevue — on ARCH Academy, a 30-bed center located on 67 acres off Highway 70.
The facility will provide therapy and programming for between 60 days and six months for adolescent boys and is expected to open in the Summer of 2019. The center, which includes a licensed high school, was designed by a team from Orcutt Winslow — the former Street Dixon Rick — that was led by Steve Rick.
Have a look at the design rendering of the 67 acre campus to be completed in Summer of 2019
PEGRAM, Tenn. (WKRN) – Jay Crosson has a big vision.
He’s CEO of Cumberland Heights, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Nashville.
Next summer, the nonprofit plans to turn a 67-acre plot of land into a recovery center for teen boys called ARCH Academy.
“They’re progressing into substances that can kill them really quick,” Crosson said. “We really need that intervention to break that cycle of addiction.”
ARCH Academy will offer a six-month recovery program for boys ages 14 to 18 battling addiction.
“We want these kids to graduate high school,” he said. “We want them to go to college.”
Up to 30 teens will live on campus which will be designed will three residence halls, a school, dining hall, and counseling room where they’ll work with therapists like Dean Porterfield.
“Anxiety, depression, trauma, we treat the whole child,” said Porterfield, director of adolescent services for Cumberland Heights.
Porterfield says about 57 percent of the teens they treat are addicted to marijuana. 10 percent are addicted to cocaine, five percent to heroin or opiates, and about 29 percent to a mix of drugs.
“It’s not uncommon for that teenager’s first experience to be at 10, 12, 13 years old,” Porterfield said.
The goal of the new center is to go more in-depth with teens, offering six months of help instead of the current program which is one to two months long.
“If we can get a longer length of stay, we can get a more solid recovery,” Crosson said.
The nonprofit will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the teen center on Thursday, April 26.
They hope to have it up and running by summer 2019.
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Marvin Ventrell Executive Director National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers
23 Million Americans suffer from addiction. An estimated 10% get the specialized care they need. Compare this to diabetes where an estimated 87% receive specialized care. Addiction is a disease and addiction treatment is a health care service. It is plain to see we have a serious health care gap between addiction treatment and need, and the need is great.
Unlike most healthcare, government funding is the primary source of payment for addiction care and that funding is woefully inadequate. Private insurance doesn’t adequately close the gap. It pays about 40% of medical care generally but only about 10% of addiction care. While parity law and addiction as an essential healthcare benefit have the potential to close that gap, we are not there yet.
Accessing appropriate treatment, therefore, is a considerable challenge. We who work in the field know what appropriate treatment, for the appropriate level of care, looks like, and where to find it. However, identifying treatment that is both high quality and attainable is a serious problem for both the typical consumer and even the payer.
good healthcare is never easy but for most conditions, consumers follow a sensible path. We seek the advice of trusted professionals who work in the field. We inquire with those who have experienced the condition. We ask our primary healthcare provider for a referral. We contact our insurer to find out what services are covered.
Consumers searching for addiction care frequently do not follow this path and are prone to falling into a web of marketing deception. Rather than focusing on appropriate health care criteria, the consumer can be lured toward flashy amenities, false promises, and economic bargains. These are not sensible healthcare selection criteria. It is alarming to think that a lifesaving healthcare selection would be influenced by luxury accommodations and whether the facility has a pool or is near the beach.
Addiction treatment is confusing and misunderstood to the consumer. We even have a confusing name for it: rehab. (The term rehab is both inaccurate and minimizes the gravity of the disease. It is time we stopped using it.) Further, the consumer or the consumer’s loved ones are typically operating in crisis and are vulnerable to deception.
So, the consumer turns to the internet. The landscape for finding treatment is dominated by the internet, which is dominated by Google, which is itself a function of marketing and the aggregation of consumer identity and behavior. The system is not built to help the consumer find the best care. It is built to help the advertiser direct the consumer.
The internet is frequently the source of manipulation and deception conducted by a minority of treatment providers and treatment brokers. Google AdWords can be dominated by unscrupulous marketers. Numerous other predatory web practices are designed to deceive the consumer. The AdWords game became so dangerous to the consumer that Google agreed to suspend that source of considerable income for the time being. NAATP is currently working with Google to develop a plan to reintroduce AdWords, accompanied by certain safeguards against deceptive practices.
Online treatment directories to the rescue! Not so fast. Such private directories can be of limited value to the consumer and can be misleading. They may be merely disguised advertising tools for one or more treatment centers or treatment brokers. Despite listing many other programs, frequently without permission, and presenting as independent resources, they still direct the consumer to call a specific 800 number where “caring professionals” are available. These directories are not, as some have suggested, analogous to the phonebook yellow pages, nor are they the Yelp of treatment. The buying and selling of patient leads can also be facilitated by online directories (remember, this is an identity aggregation system), a practice prohibited by the NAATP Code of Ethics. Additionally, the consumer must beware of so called treatment program rankings. Such rankings are not a recognized practice in the field.
The consumer may also find itself visiting a website that purports to be a treatment educational resource but is, itself, designed to aggregate identities and market certain treatment programs to them. Some such sites can be operated by a single program while not clearly branded with the program’s identity.
The government, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has produced an online repository of mental health and addiction services. It is a large repository that contains approximately 13,000 addiction treatment service entities. It is an important and useful repository of information, particularly for professionals working in the field, researchers, and policy-makers. In its depth and selection criteria, it may not be the most useful tool for the consumer to narrow and select care.
Good consumerism requires discernment based on objective criteria. To aid the consumer and payer in this process, NAATP has produced a guide to treatment program selection. We encourage the consumer and the professional to read and use this guide in the process of selecting addiction treatment. We further encourage treatment providers themselves to review this guide and ask themselves whether they meet the conditions set forth.
If you or a loved one would like to speak directly with one of our licensed admissions staff, please call us now at (800) 646-9998 or submit the following information. If outside business hours, we will get back to you the following day.
Why is it so meaningful to give to Cumberland Heights?
Your gift to Cumberland Heights through our annual and capital initiates gives immediate support to patients and their families. To make a longer term impact a gift to the endowment fund will provide patient assistance funding for years to come.
