New substance-abuse treatment center opens in Broomfield

BROOMFIELD — A new adult substance abuse treatment center has officially opened in a former nursing home in town.

Lafayette-based NRT Behavioral Health, which operates treatment programs for adults in Colorado and Wyoming, officially opened Foundry Front Range, a 73-bed facility at 11952 Gray St. It is the former home of Villagio Senior Living, which closed in June.

The Foundry opens at a crucial time for Colorado, which continues to suffer increasing rates of overdose deaths and a lack of treatment access. Foundry Front Range is intended and designed to make skilled clinicians and integrated addiction medicine available to the vast majority of Colorado residents, according to a news release.

The 44,000-square foot center offers group-therapy rooms, common areas, recreational spaces, a commercial kitchen and office space, as well as 73 treatment beds. The company also has forged relationships in the insurance marketplace, as well as Medicaid.

“We have a really good relationship with Rocky Mountain Health Plans and Medicaid, and it’s allowed us to serve the rural or western rural portion of the state in a way that we hadn’t been able to before,” Tom Walker, CEO of Foundry Front Range, and co-founder of parent company NRT Behavioral Health, said in an interview. “The goal is to provide the highest level of care that you’d experience if you had the resources (privately), and provide that level of care to the Medicaid community, which there does appear to be higher volume of individuals who are seeking treatment.”

They specialize in treating substance-use disorders, especially when coupled with other disorders, such as depression or anxiety. The range of drugs has grown through the years to not only include methamphetamine and fentanyl, but high-potency THC, withdrawing from which can include recurrent vomiting for up to 48 hours.

Potency of marijuana has increased immensely, especially now that recreational marijuana is gaining more acceptance and becoming legal in more states. “It isn’t the same substance we saw even 10 to 15 years ago,” Walker said. “We’ve gone from concentrations in the ’90s of 5% to having substances that are 99% THC. We don’t even have research on what THC does when it surpasses 16% potency.”

Walker, now 27 years sober, came to Colorado in 2022, when his friend, Ben Cort, who was working at the Foundry treatment center in Steamboat Springs asked him to move from Virginia and be the COO of the program. Together, they took over the company and sought to open another treatment center in Colorado to expand treatment services.  

“We’re hoping to have Medicaid work with us at reasonable rates that allow us to provide not jut more clinical hours, and hang our hat on outcomes based on that higher level of care, but have a true medical facility that has five different medical providers, 24-hour nursing, and the ability to take more complex detox patients. For example, Where does a woman who is pregnant go for fentanyl treatment?’ We provide a level of care that addresses the more complex issues like that.”

Walker said they are ramping the facility up slowly, with plans to have a total of 100 employees. A third of the 73 beds will be reserved for detox patients, and two-thirds of the beds are split between gender specific programming for longer term care.

The place is run by people with lived and professional experience in substance abuse and treatment, Walker said.

“A lot of us that work here are in long-term recovery and live our lives according to principals that keep us healthy, and we are utilizing those principals to run an organization from the top down, so that our clients will ultimately benefit from what has kept many of us clean and sober for the long term,” Walker said.

Walker and the staff held an open house in August, with more than 250 guests in attendance.

“I was grateful to have the privilege of touring Foundry’s impressive new facility, and I am truly inspired by the dedication and expertise on display. This state-of-the-art center is a beacon of hope for individuals across all walks of life, offering comprehensive care for Medicaid clients and those with commercial insurance and even addressing high medical acuity needs. Foundry’s commitment to transforming lives rings loud and clear the moment you walk in the door. This is a place of hope for those with addiction,” attendee Luke Niforatos, EVP of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions said in the press release.