Thanks to more than a million dollars in funding from Washington County, East Tennessee State University is establishing the first recovery community center in Northeast Tennessee — one of several
Last July a controversial Tennessee law that punished women who gave birth to drug-dependent babies was allowed to expire due to concerns it was sending drug-addicted mothers-to-be into hiding, or to abortion clinics to avoid jail time. The law was passed six years earlier, ostensibly to help combat a rising epidemic of babies born addicted to drugs, known as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
With this law out of the way, the state has returned to its earlier practice of eliminating punishment in favor of treatment. Ballad Health has now doubled down on that approach with a major investment in serving the specialized needs of not just pregnant women and babies who suffer from addition, but entire families.
Ballad Health, Gov. Bill Lee Launch Effort to Provide Strong Futures For Women and Babies
Ballad Health, Gov. Bill Lee Launch Effort to Provide Strong Futures For Women and Babies
Greeneville, Tenn., Jan. 28, 2021 As an organization committed to serving the needs of women and children throughout the Appalachian Highlands, Ballad Health announced today a major investment into serving the specialized needs of pregnant women, babies and families, who suffer from the pain of addiction.
The Ballad Health Strong Futures program, which will be housed at the former Takoma Regional Hospital in Greeneville, will provide residential and other care for pregnant women and mothers who suffer from addiction or need other behavioral health services. The program will provide a range of residential and outpatient behavioral health services, including addiction treatment, that will help ensure the strongest-possible new beginnings for women and their children.