Hazelden Betty Ford in Chicago marks 25th anniversary

Addiction treatment, mental health leader hosts open house for community

Chicago (Oct. 6, 2022) - The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is celebrating 25 years of saving lives, restoring families, and spreading hope about the promise and possibility of recovery in Chicago.

On Oct. 6, Hazelden Betty Ford leaders including Chicago Director of Services Lauren Fish, Chief Medical Officer Alta DeRoo, MD, and East Region Vice President Janelle Wesloh hosted an open house to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hazelden Betty Ford in Chicago—and the transformative reach of healing and hope that the milestone represents.

“Today, on the tail of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are serving more people than at any time in our history, and hiring as fast as we can to meet the tremendous demand,” Fish said. “While Chicago and the nation still face an unprecedented overdose, addiction and mental health crisis, more people are getting well too. We look forward to being a vital part of this city’s health care ecosystem for many years to come.”

Since 1997, Hazelden Betty Ford has provided expert, comprehensive outpatient treatment in the Windy City, the birthplace of former First Lady Betty Ford. Along the way, the treatment center has earned recognition as a Center of Excellence among many top insurance providers, as well as community recognition as “Best Recovery Center” by Chicago Reader. Located downtown at 867 North Dearborn Avenue, Hazelden Betty Ford offers multiple levels of trauma-informed outpatient treatment for substance use and mental health disorders—both virtually and in-person—as well as recovery management and family services.

The 22,000-square foot Gold Coast location was long ago transformed from a foreign consulate into a welcoming, comfortable facility with all the warmth, grace and dignity that typifies Hazelden Betty Ford’s national system of care. Attendees of the Oct. 6 open house—including professional colleagues, alumni, donors and friends—got a sneak peak of continuing improvements, including a new courtyard currently under construction.

About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. As the nation's leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient addiction and mental health care for adults and youth, the Foundation has treatment centers and telehealth services nationwide as well as a network of collaborators throughout health care. Through charitable support and a commitment to innovation, the Foundation is able to continually enhance care, research, programs and services, and help more people. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation today is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in its services and throughout the organization, which also encompasses a graduate school of addiction studies, a publishing division, an addiction research center, recovery advocacy and thought leadership, professional and medical education programs, school-based prevention resources and a specialized program for children who grow up in families with addiction.