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County board and health leaders praise new Scribe Recovery Center ahead of opening
Summary
DuPage County leaders and the county health director recognized board support for the Scribe Recovery Center, saying the new center will provide immediate behavioral health crisis care and reduce stigma around mental health treatment.
DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy and health department leaders recognized the county’s investment in a new behavioral health facility, the Scribe Recovery Center, at the board’s Aug. 26 meeting and said the center will open next week.
Chair Conroy thanked board members for directing “precious resources” toward a new public-health approach for people experiencing mental health and addiction crises, and praised members for sharing personal experiences that informed the decision. “You directed precious resources, creating a new public health care model that will change lives for decades to come,” Conroy said.
Adam Forker, identified at the meeting as executive director of the DuPage County Health Department, presented remarks praising the board’s financial and policy support and said the center represents “a bold step forward in how we respond to behavioral health crises in our community, providing immediate and compassionate care to those who need it most.” Forker thanked Chair Conroy and Board of Health President Sam Tornatore for leadership on the project.
Tornatore, president of the DuPage County Board of Health, called the center the product of a shared vision and praised the board’s investment. “Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people over our lifetimes and lifetimes to come are going to be helped as a result of what we see over there,” he said.
Discussion versus action: The meeting remarks were ceremonial recognition and did not constitute a new appropriation at the Aug. 26 session; the board’s prior financial commitments to the project were described as having enabled the center. Board members and health officials emphasized partnership with nonprofit and private-sector partners in repurposing the site and thanked county staff.
Background: The board and health department have discussed the center in media appearances and committee meetings in recent weeks, and county leaders said the center’s opening is the result of multi-year work. At this meeting, Conroy and Forker thanked county staff, contractor White and Company, and Board of Health leadership for bringing the facility to completion.
Next steps: County leaders said the center will open next week and that staff and partners will continue to monitor operations as services begin. No new board action was taken at the Aug. 26 meeting.
