$453,000 GRANT LETS TREATMENT CENTER IN CAPE GROW

On the heels of a community survey placing access to medical care and
substance abuse treatment near the top of the list of community
problems, the Gibson Recovery Center in Cape Girardeau has received a
$453,809 grant to improve treatment for mental illness and substance
abuse.

The two-year grant comes from the Missouri Foundation for Health, the
state's largest health-financing organization. The foundation
distributes funding to community organizations that serve the
uninsured and underinsured in 84 Missouri counties and the city of St.
Louis.

Heather McClurg, the organization's director of communications, said
the grant was awarded on the basis of the Gibson Center's plan to use
an integrated model to treat individuals suffering both mental illness
and addiction. "Their proposal was seen as having potential for
strengthening the health safety net in the Bootheel region," McClurg
said.

A survey conducted in part by the United Way of Southeast Missouri
showed one of area residents' primary concerns is access to health
care.

The Gibson Recovery Center at 1112 Linden St. in Cape Girardeau has
both a residential program and an outpatient program for treatment of
mental illness and substance abuse. The center serves an average of
473 residential clients annually and an average of 471 outpatient
clients monthly.

Over the course of two years, the grant will allow for the addition of
200 clients, both residents and outpatients. It also provides
additional staffing: two case managers, a network administrator,
project director and project secretary. The grant may allow the center
to hire an on-site psychiatrist, said John Gary, the Gibson Recovery
Center executive director.

The current wait for a client to see a psychiatrist is eight to 10
weeks. "With the grant, we'll be able to increase services to treat
mental health and substance abuse aggressively," Gary said.

Staff training, one-on-one treatment and help in finding appropriate
housing and jobs for clients are some of the uses planned for the
grant. The center also wants to introduce a "crisis bed" for people
who aren't accepted into a state hospital because of current drug or
alcohol use.

The center's current annual operating budget of $1.3 million is funded
by the Missouri Department of Mental Health's Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Division, Cape Girardeau and Perry Counties Mill Tax Board, United Way
of Southeast Missouri, private donations, the Missouri Department of
Corrections and the Office of State Courts and Administration.

The center serves Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger, Scott and Stoddard
counties with a full-time staff of 32.