CCS now runs the county’s substance abuse program

By Terry Murry on Friday, September 3rd, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – Community Counseling Solutions has taken over caring for Umatilla County’s substance use disorder patients. Mark Royal of Pendleton worked to oversee the change in structure and providers. The county board of commissioners decided to combine substance abuse with mental health cases and give the contract to CCS instead of having Lifeways handle only mental health issues.

“The transfer date has been determined to be Dec. 1,” Royal said. “That’s when the entity will change.”

Royal said that changing to one provider for both types of cases, will make things operate smoother, but the change won’t be a glaring one for those already in treatment.

“Nothing will change as far as how the client sees it,” he said. “If they’re engaged in services currently, they’ll be the same.”

Royal added that CCS has already hired about 90 percent of Lifeways’ employees.

“So far, that’s been pretty smooth,” he said.