ROCHESTER — A New Brighton, Minnesota-based mental health and addiction recovery provider plans to reopen Oakridge Treatment Center, a Rochester men’s inpatient facility that has been closed since late 2023.
“We are looking to reopen the facility and doing it, obviously, very differently than it had been done previously,” said Lew Zeidner, CEO of EOSIS, formerly known as Meridian Behavioral Health.
In November 2023, the Olmsted County Public Health Services Advisory Board
declared the treatment center a public health nuisance
due to what county officials called a pattern of nonfatal overdoses, corrective actions from state human services authorities and elopements — residents leaving the property on foot.
Later that month, the county
revoked Oakridge’s lodging and food licenses.
EOSIS initially appealed those revocations, which forced it to relocate residents to other facilities, but
in January 2024. The facility, located in Haverhill Township, has been closed since.
Zeidner said there is not yet a timeline for when Oakridge can reopen.
“I think the biggest concerns of the community, that we intend to address in the reopening, relate to perceptions of security,” Zeidner said. “Better fencing, better staffing models, better lighting.”
EOSIS representatives spoke at Haverhill Township’s annual meeting on Tuesday, March 10. Township chairperson Ben Hain said the discussions between EOSIS staff, board members and residents were serious but respectful.
“If they can prove that they can operate it in a manner that is safe for everybody, both the residents and the neighborhood — and that law enforcement isn’t spending an inordinate amount of time there — then it would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood,” Hain said.
Before its closure, Oakridge provided residential, inpatient treatment for substance abuse disorder for up to 70 individuals at a time. It does not have an active license with the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Dené K. Dryden is the Post Bulletin’s health reporter. Readers can reach Dené at 507-281-7488 and ddryden@postbulletin.com.