The former Heritage Suites building in Bradford Township is being occupied once again, and this time the mission is on changing lives.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Inc. hosted an open house Thursday at the former hotel, which is now the new Maple Manor, an inpatient treatment facility for drug and alcohol addiction, at 139 Minard Run Road.
Clients, who got a preview of the facility Thursday evening, will move in March 31. Maple Manor is currently located on Chestnut Street in Port Allegany.
“We’re over-the-moon excited,” said Angie Eckstrom, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services executive director, adding that the new site allows for an expansion from 12 beds to 24.
Since the 1980s, Maple Manor has been located in the former hospital in Port Allegany, and in recent years, the agency has had to send many patients, who are from Cameron, Elk and McKean counties, to such places as Pittsburgh and Erie for long-term treatment.
Starting in July, the new facility will allow people to be able to stay for the long term –– up to 90 days. Currently, people can reside at Maple Manor for 28 days. There will be eight long-term beds, and four additional beds for short-term stays at the new site, Eckstrom said.
“The new facility is such a blessing, it really is,” said Thomas Patterson, Maple Manor program director.
So much more is being offered in the new location, he said, noting that the excitement was seen all around during the open house. In July, lifeskills will be taught to the Maple Manor residents, along with continuing rehabilitation, he said.
In addition, clients will see major room upgrades from what’s offered in Port Allegany, where client rooms have two beds and a toilet and sink. In the new Bradford Township location, the rooms have two to three beds and each one has a private bathroom with tub and shower. A couple of the rooms for long-term treatment are equipped with kitchenettes.
Eckstrom called the new digs more homey and the Port Allegany site more clinical looking.
“The building is beautiful,” said Mark Graham of Bradford, who stopped by during the open house. He added that just stepping into the new facility would make people happy.
Graham said the new Maple Manor is a great addition for the Bradford area, since more people can receive treatment.
“The public support has been amazing,” Eckstrom said.
More than 200 people, including Bradford Township officials, came out Thursday to look over and show their support for ADAS’s efforts.
The project had been in the works for nearly two years, and close to $730,000 in grants from foundations and other sources helped make the move a reality.
The project was made possible through the support of the Stackpole-Hall Foundation, the Hanley Family Foundation, George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation, Philo and Sarah Blaisdell Foundation, Zippo Manufacturing Co. and the McKean County Department of Human Services.
The former hotel wasn’t the only building the organization had its eyes on. Officials were looking at the former school building in Lafayette Township earlier in 2016, but then turned their attention to the Bradford Township site, which had once served as an elderly care home.
“We’re just excited to move into a new home,” Eckstrom said.
