Willingway Foundation and Georgia Southern University partner to create addiction recovery center

January 2, 2008

The Willingway Foundation and Georgia Southern University are teaming up to better the future of current and potential college students who are battling the diseases of alcoholism and drug addiction.

The Willingway Foundation, the non-profit affiliate of Willingway Hospital, has donated an initial gift of $25,000 per year for three years as start-up funding to develop The Center for Addiction Recovery on the Georgia Southern University campus. The new center, housed within The Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH), will primarily serve as the hub for a collegiate recovery community. This will provide students recovering from alcohol, drug, and related addictions the opportunity to take advantage of the full collegiate experience while minimizing the risk of relapse. Additionally, the center will work to develop student and faculty research and educational resources as well as community-wide outreach partnerships.

Willingway Hospital and Georgia Southern share similar histories. Both rooted in the same small Southern city, each has grown up to achieve nationally recognized excellence in their respective fields. Many Willingway employees were educated at Georgia Southern University, but, more importantly, the University plays a significant role in the long-term recovery of many of Willingway’s alumni.

‘Many of the patients treated at Willingway Hospital choose to remain in Statesboro, and many of those people end up pursuing higher education,” said Robert W. Mooney, M.D., medical director of the hospital and a board member of the Willingway Foundation. ‘With this gift, the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health can take steps to develop a cutting-edge program that will support those in addiction recovery in the Georgia Southern community.”

Jimmy Mooney, C. E. O. of Willingway Hospital and a board member of Willingway Foundation has been pleasantly surprised at the support the Center for Addiction Recovery has received so far. ‘I’ve been amazed at the enthusiasm the faculty and administration at Georgia Southern have shown for this center,” he said. ‘To me, this demonstrates their commitment to provide a safe, nurturing environment for recovering students. It’s a great honor to be able to partner with Georgia Southern in a way that will have such a positive impact on both the students and the Statesboro  Bulloch County community.”

The Center for Addiction Recovery in the JPHCOPH will emulate a successful federally funded program currently in place at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech has developed a program model that other colleges and universities can implement and design to fit their particular campus culture.

The Texas Tech curriculum, which can be implemented through academic programs, student services or student health services, will encourage the new center at Georgia Southern to serve as a hub for recovery in the Statesboro area and to partner with many different areas of learning on campus.

‘The Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery at Texas Tech serves 70 students each semester,” said Charles Hardy, dean of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. ‘Students in the center are more likely to graduate, they carry a higher GPA, and have an overall seven percent relapse rate. This is definitely a good program model to implement at Georgia Southern.”

– See more at: https://ww2.georgiasouthern.edu/news/pressrelease.php?id=936#sthash.iLV0SnNx.dpuf