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MAHWAH

Addiction center opens at former religious retreat in Mahwah

Marsha A. Stoltz
NorthJersey.com

MAHWAH — An outpatient addiction treatment center has opened on the campus of a former religious retreat in Mahwah, the first phase in a project that will bring a 90-bed inpatient center with a range of behavioral health services.

The Retreat & Recovery At Ramapo Valley provides outpatient services on the 40-acre campus, which formerly housed the Carmel Retreat on Ramapo Valley Road. A 90-bed inpatient facility and detox services are scheduled to open in 2022. 

“The Retreat & Recovery At Ramapo Valley arrives at a critical time for our state,” said Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, which operates the center. “We know that more people are struggling with mental health issues and addiction. In fact, it’s a pandemic within the COVID-19 pandemic.’’ 

Garrett said the health company is “committed to providing high-quality and accessible behavioral health care, and we do not believe people should have to leave New Jersey to receive these vital services.’’

The former Carmel Retreat Carriage House in Mahwah was converted to an outpatient rehabilitation facility as the first phase of the Retreat & Recovery at Ramapo Valley by Hackensack Meridian Health.

Donald J. Parker, president of Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic, said the facility would eventually offer "co-occurring services in addition to medicated assisted treatment under the guidance of our medical director and licensed professionals.”

"We’re here to support the individual seeking recovery from active substance use as well as their families," Parker said. "Our family programming is offered once per month, in addition to individual family sessions scheduled on an as-needed basis when clinically appropriate.” 

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The property was once the Charles Chapman estate, and it was sold to the Carmelites, a Catholic religious order, as a retreat in 1955. The retreat closed in 2012. 

The retreat was purchased by October Realty Co. LLC of Garfield in January 2019.  A use variance for the site in the Highland Preservation Area was granted that September.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, including Carrier Clinic behavioral health hospital in Belle Mead, and two rehabilitation hospitals: JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Through the network’s merger with Carrier Clinic in 2019, New Jersey’s first behavioral health urgent care center was opened in Neptune to give patients an option besides emergency care for behavioral health treatment.

Individuals can enroll in the outpatient program by calling 833-734-0171. 

Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stoltz@northjersey.com

Twitter: @marsha_stoltz