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Florida Rehab Centers
Florida's Ritzy Rehab Centers
Florida -- Palm Beach County in particular -- is home to a thriving recovery industry that increasingly caters to wealthy substance abusers.
Operation PAR [Photo: Mark Wemple] |
With a steady stream of customers, the centers can provide treatment at profit margins ranging from about 10% to as much as 25%, according to rehab center executives. Behavioral Health would not disclose its revenue but says SeaSide has experienced a gross revenue increase in excess of 20% year over year.
The market has been so lucrative that some middle-of-the-road providers have begun to offer upscale services as well. The main rehab program at for-profit Palm Partners Recovery Center of Delray Beach costs $19,500 a month. But CEO Peter Harrigan says the center found that its clients included "executives who needed an environment where they could still run a company and have some anonymity."
Three years ago, Palm Partners opened "Platinum Partners," a $30,000-a-month program that provides elegant private apartments with private pools, catered meals, internet access and limousines. Patients participate in intensive counseling, yoga and hypnotherapy as well as spa treatments. Palm Partners, which is privately held, targets executives, pro athletes, entertainers and other wealthy addicts. "People with money want a certain standard," Harrigan says. "There's a real need for this level of care."
State officials expect no letup in the trend toward swanky rehab centers. "We have several applications in the process for high-end facilities targeting the wealthy," says Cathy Claud, DCF's substance abuse service coordinator for Palm Beach County — including a 117-bed facility in Tequesta modeled after the Betty Ford Center in California. Monthly charges? About $38,000.
Says Claud: "It's a good investment."
Why Palm Beach? |