After closure of detox, Eastern Oregon Recovery Center moves forward with new leadership
By Griffin Beach on Monday, May 4th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The last time the Eastern Oregon Recovery Center made headlines, Umatilla County commissioners were terminating the organization’s lease for its detox center near the county jail. Six months later, following a change in leadership, the center wants the community to know that detox was the only service that went away.
“We are still here,” said Amica Bryant, who took over as executive director of EORC in December.
Bryant is currently working to stabilize the center’s finances while maintaining inpatient treatment and transitional housing services. She noted that financial instability stemmed not only from the low patient volume that closed the detox center but also from a decrease in inpatient admissions.
According to Bryant, the issue is not a lack of demand for treatment, but rather limitations on the types of insurance the center can currently accept. She is working to repair professional relationships to broaden their patient base.
“There were corrective actions that had been put in place a few years ago that some of the staff weren’t privy to,” Bryant said. “I started digging into what all was needed to satisfy those.”
She noted that the Oregon Health Authority has been supportive during the leadership transition.
“OHA did a site review and an audit.” Bryant said. “It was brutal, but they did that intentionally because one thing I told them is we need to make sure that we are doing better.”
Many of the required fixes involved building maintenance. Bryant said crews are currently making repairs, though she noted that new issues frequently arise in the 50-year-old facilities.
“We’ll get one thing fixed and then we’ll find something else—fairly typical with the age of the property,” she said, adding that updating staff and resident policies were also part of the corrections
Staff members said rumors of a total shutdown of EORC were also fueled by the fact that a recently constructed facility on Southwest Second Street remains unoccupied. Bryant explained the building was originally intended for inpatient treatment, but after rising costs forced the project to scale back, she is now working to convert it into transitional housing.
As for the detox center, Bryant said she hopes to see it operational again but would like to see EORC stay focused on its current services.
“I think it’s necessary to have it in the community, I don’t know that it’s something that we should be running,” said Bryant.
Eastern Oregon Recovery Center main office in Pendleton
