Celebrating 20 Years
Vinland’s chemical health program is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The program began in 1990 after Vinland recognized a need for specialized services for individuals with disabilities. The program has steadily grown for the past 20 years and has established itself as the premier program.
August 10, 2010 - When Vinland began offering chemical health services for adults with brain injuries in 1990, no other organization was providing a similar type of specialized service. Thanks to advancements in medical technology during the 1980’s, survival rates for traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients had more than doubled. Services were evolving and expanding in scope to meet the growing demands of this population.
Research at the time showed alcohol and drug use was involved with roughly fifty percent of traumatic brain injury accidents, and of those cases fifty percent of the people involved had a previous history of substance abuse. The need for a specialized chemical health program was there.
Innovative Program
Many people living with a brain injury have difficulty with memory, controlling impulsive behavior, focusing and concentration. Those are all skills important in traditional chemical dependency treatment programs, which is why many TBI survivors are unsuccessful in those types of programs.
Vinland developed a chemical dependency treatment program that could accommodate TBI survivors’ barriers to success and increase their chance for long-term sobriety. The new program placed an emphasis on positive reinforcement and low confrontation as a more appropriate way to interact with people living with brain injuries.
The new program proved beneficial not just for adults living with brain injuries, but people living with other types of disabilities such as learning disabilities and mental illnesses. Twenty years later, Vinland remains one of only a few treatment centers that provides chemical health services tailored for adults with cognitive disabilities.
Expanding Services
The chemical health program started out as a residential program with ten beds at Vinland’s main campus. Demand for the program grew steadily, and Vinland expanded capacity to meet demand. Today the residential portion of the program has 41 beds.
Construction on the women’s wing was completed in 2001. The women’s wing has provided a separate space that allows Vinland to provide treatment services tailored for women.
In 2005 Vinland began offering chemical health services to clients of Courage Center Golden Valley’s Transitional Rehabilitation and Pain Management Programs. The following year Vinland began offering outpatient chemical health services at Courage Center Golden Valley. This location has allowed Vinland to serve clients with varying levels of chemical dependency issues who need the convenience of a metro location so they can fulfill their work, family and life obligations.
Whole-Person Approach
Vinland is dedicated to treating the whole person — mind, body and spirit. Vinland utilizes an interdisciplinary team of professionals, realizing there were many barriers to remaining sober and leading a full and rewarding life. The interdisciplinary team includes chemical health counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, fitness and wellness staff, vocational counselors, nurses, and human services technicians.Complementary Care
Vinland provides a variety of complementary care services to all of its participants. The therapeutic exercise program is the largest and provides each participant with a personalized fitness program designed under the supervision of a fitness and wellness manager. Vinland’s fitness staff works closely with each participant to encourage a life-long interest in physical fitness.
Vinland also offers psychology and psychiatry services, family programming, traumatic brain injury groups, mindfulness-based stress reduction, recreation activities, and basic computer training.
Future of the Program
Demand for the chemical health program increases every year. Currently the growth of the program is hindered by space constraints. Vinland has plans for a building expansion project that will increase capacity from 41 beds to 100 beds. The expansion will also provide a new fitness center, more group meeting spaces, new dining and kitchen facility, and new common areas.
For more information about the expansion project, visit VinlandCenter.org/CampusExpansion.
