Serenity Hills Life Center CEO Sharon Travis said her facility on Stone Shannon Road in Wheeling should be ready to reopen in the next couple of weeks. (Photo by Derek Redd)

WHEELING — After a tumultuous year for Serenity Hills Life Center, where the doors were temporarily closed due to a state investigation, center CEO Sharon Travis is now looking toward the future — one where Serenity Hills will be reopening very soon.

And in Travis’ eyes, the future for her addiction recovery center — which specializes in helping women deal with substance abuse — is very bright and ready for even more growth.

“Now, it’s like the future is wide and bright and right in front of me,” she said, “so we can do amazing things.”

That future didn’t come without a fight. In March 2022, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification began an investigation of Serenity Hills based on a complaint filed.

OHFLAC subsequently decreed that Serenity Hills would not have its license renewed following its investigation, claiming there were numerous instances where patients’ health and safety had been jeopardized.

Travis appealed that ruling and, last August, had a hearing over several days before an administrative law judge. According to that judge’s decision, OHFLAC’s order to not renew Serenity Hills’ license was reversed. In the decision, the judge cited several examples where the reliable evidence did not support OHFLAC’s claims that Serenity Hills jeopardized patients’ safety.

For example, OHFLAC claimed that Serenity Hills had procedures in place that prohibited patients from leaving the facility. During the hearing, it was found that patients were able to exit the facility and that the procedures in place were to make sure that unauthorized people could not enter the facility.

Another incident came from an allegation of resident abuse stemming from a party the center held during Valentine’s Day weekend. At that point, the center was still dealing with strict COVID-19 protocols and masks had to be properly worn. At one point when loud music was playing, Travis saw a resident had her mask pulled down while talking with other people.

Travis took the resident by the arm to pull her away from the group, and when the resident turned around, she lost her balance. The Serenity Hills board of directors reviewed the video of the incident and saw no evidence of abuse.

That incident also was reviewed during the August hearing and, while the judge said it was obvious Travis pulled the resident away, it did not reach the level of resident abuse. Additional evidence showed that the resident in question remained at the party, danced with the group and participated in other events over the next couple of days.

According to the judge’s decision, OHFLAC had documented several instances of what it deemed violations, but those things had been in place since the center opened in 2019 and had not been mentioned as a problem in previous surveys.

Serenity Hills’ license was renewed in November 2022 and, since then, Travis has been working to open the doors to the center once again. She hasn’t set a hard date on the reopening, but expects it to happen in the next couple of weeks. She said a couple dozen women are already waiting for the doors to open to take advantage of what the facility offers.

The treatment center can house up to 72 women and a sober living house on the campus can house another 12. Travis said the average stay for a resident is three months, but could be as long as five months. If the center is at capacity, Travis said it could employ up to 55 people.

One of the newest hires, she said, is a compliance officer. That person’s main focus is to make sure both the center’s rules and state guidelines are being followed closely. By having someone to handle that day-to-day work, Travis said she will be able to turn her attention to bigger-picture items. And there are plenty of those.

One facet she hopes to add to Serenity Hills is a sober living house for women to be able to continue living with their infants and newborn children. She said that having young mothers able to continue living with their babies is crucial to the recovery process.

“The longer they’re away from their babies, they lose that bond and they’re more likely to give up,” Travis said, “because they’ve lost that bond with the babies. So it’s really important that that baby goes with them. It does help incentivize them.”

Travis also hopes to build additional sober living houses on the campus’ 149 acres, and is looking for partners for a men’s facility. She also has a vision of building a training facility to partner with West Virginia Northern Community College to teach skills like carpentry and welding. She’s already looking at offering computer skills and mental health tech classes.

Anyone interested in donating to the center or any of its proposed services can contact Travis at 304-277-4567.

Travis believes now is Serenity Hills’ opportunity to spread its wings. The struggles of the past year are over. So are the limitations that the COVID-19 pandemic created. Now Travis feels Serenity Hills can reach its full potential of helping women on the road to recovery, no matter what their background may be.

“I wanted everyone to have the same quality care and I believe that’s what they’re going to get here,” she said. “A lot of these girls come in, they get nervous because it’s so pretty, and they’ll go, ‘I don’t belong in a place like this.’ And I’ll say ‘yes, you do.’ I try to convince them that you are worth it. And by the time they leave here, they do feel like they’re worth it.”