Fountain Centers, a Mayo Clinic Health System program for substance abuse and addiction, will relocate its 13-bed women’s residential unit to space it will remodel on the third floor of the hospital building on the Albert Lea campus of Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin. Construction on the new women’s unit location is scheduled to begin in the spring and should be completed by the fall of 2016.

“Relocating this unit to newly remodeled space will enhance the therapeutic environment and improve patient and staff satisfaction,” said Larry Blair, director of Fountain Centers.

Fountain Centers has decided to pause admissions to its adolescent residential treatment program, also located in Albert Lea. While the pause officially goes into effect July 1, 2016, enrollment in the program will end June 1 to allow time for patients to complete the program. There is currently no confirmed end date for the pause.

“Temporarily pausing admissions to our residential adolescent program will allow us to recruit an addiction psychiatrist medical director and thoroughly evaluate our program and model of care,” said Blair. “We will also identify a new location for the program, moving it from one of our aging buildings to space that is a more welcoming and therapeutic environment for our adolescent patients.”

“Fountain Centers is committed to working with patients, families, referring agencies and other providers of adolescent addiction treatment to ensure young people in our area continue to receive the help they need,” said Mark Ciota, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin. “During the pause of our residential adolescent program, patients and families will be referred to other residential programs in the region. We will continue to offer outpatient services for adolescents at Fountain Centers locations in Austin, Fairmont and Rochester.”