Mayor Parker’s signature drug treatment facility could open this fall, documents say

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration could accept patients at a new city-funded treatment facility for people who use drugs as soon as this fall, an aggressive timeline for one of the mayor’s signature initiatives.

The administration is looking to swiftly open a portion of the Riverview Wellness Village and could serve up to 120 people in the first phase, according to documents seeking third-party service providers that were posted last month on a city website.

Ultimately, the administration wants the facility — located at 7979 State Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia and abutting the jail complex — to serve more than 600 people who are seeking a variety of types of care. It could be two years or more before the entire facility is open.

The “wellness village” is part of Parker’s strategy to end open-air drug markets in the city, including in the long-distressed Kensington neighborhood, by expanding the city’s drug treatment capacity. Parker asked City Council to approve $100 million in borrowing to finance the facility, which became a key sticking point in budget negotiations earlier this year. In June, lawmakers ultimately agreed to fund the project.

Parker administration officials did not answer questions from The Inquirer regarding the progress crews have made on the site or the services that will be offered inside the facility when it opens.

But the documents — which include two requests for proposals from third-party vendors the city will hire to design the facility and provide health-care services there — shed new light on the project, including its opening timeline and details about the types of rehabilitation services the city will offer.

The 19-acre Riverview complex, which sits along a quiet portion of the Delaware River trail and overlooks the water, is a former city-run personal care home comprised of seven buildings. City officials have said they also plan to construct an additional residential building on the premises.

» READ MORE: Does Philly have enough addiction treatment beds? City Council seeks clarity in Kensington.

The existing structures require a range of renovations before they are habitable. Records show the city has detected environmental hazards, including asbestos, on the campus. Several of the facilities on the complex will need to be gutted, and the beginning design phase of that process won’t begin until next month, at the earliest.

However, two of the existing buildings are in better physical shape than the others, and those are the facilities that are expected to open first. According to the city’s documents, they’ll be made up of 30 communal living units averaging four beds each.

According to the city’s records, the facility is expected to accept individuals, as well as couples and people who have pets. That addresses two major barriers experts say can keep people from being placed in or staying in treatment.

People can be referred to the facility by a variety of outreach and treatment programs, according to the documents, as well as the city’s “treatment court,” which is expected to fast-track people who are arrested for drug use and is still under development.

In its initial phase, Riverview will be considered a “low-intensity” residential treatment facility, which generally means that residents are admitted only if their withdrawal symptoms or other medical conditions can be safely managed outside a hospital.

» READ MORE: Philly is developing a fast-track court for people arrested for drug use in Kensington

Basic medical care can be administered, such as primary-care services, first aid, and chronic-disease management. The city also expects providers at Riverview to provide residents with access to various types of medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, such as methadone or buprenorphine.

But the “low-intensity” classification means there won’t initially be so-called Level 4 beds that are capable of providing intensive medical care. Those beds have been in high demand in the city because of the toxic nature of the street drug supply that increasingly includes the animal tranquilizer xylazine, also called tranq, which can cause severe health complications and open wounds.

Still, the initial opening could represent a significant expansion of the city’s treatment offerings. The city oversees about 1,800 Medicaid-eligible treatment beds citywide, and officials estimate that between 100 and 200 are available on any given day.