May 10—Addiction Recovery Care has hired Johnathan Frazier as Community Chief Executive Officer of its Bellefonte Campus. His first official day was Monday.

"I'll be running day-to-day operations of the facilities and make sure we meet and exceed expectations," Frazier said. "It's a big project. I do think this project will make national headlines, given the scope of services we provide."

Frazier, 43, has spent 20 years in recovery. Coming up with solutions amid the drug epidemic is "near and dear to me," he said.

Frazier was essentially a "no-brainer" hire, according to Matt Brown, ARC's Chief Administration Officer. Frazier agreed.

"First, he's got a great resume," Brown said, "and then we met Johnathan. He's culturally aligned and aligned with our mission."

Frazier has 15 years of experience as a managerial executive with various companies, including Summit Behavior Health. Most recently, Frazier was Market CEO for NeuroPsychiatric Hospitals, a network of inpatient psychiatric facilities headquartered in Indianapolis.

Originally from Beckley, West Virginia, Frazier couldn't pass up the opportunity to come back to Appalachia.

"Really, I'm just a country boy from West Virginia," Frazier said. His wife of 16 years has Appalachian roots as well, he said.

He currently resides in Charleston. He received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Concord University and his Master's in Executive Leadership from Liberty University.

Frazier has four children — ages 22, 16, 12 and 8.

According to ARC, Frazier will oversee all activities and functions on the Bellefonte campus, with a focus on ensuring individualized, quality care for clients recovering from substance use disorders.

Tim Robinson, ARC's founder and CEO, said Frazier is a "strong addition to the Addiction Recovery Care executive team, and we're glad to have him overseeing one of our largest facilities to date. ... His extensive leadership skill, background in health care and experience overseeing multi-site provider organizations will be critical as we work to bring high-quality mental and behavior health treatment services to an area in need."

ARC is working toward a partial opening date of the Bellefonte Hospital and Recovery Center in late 2023 or early 2024, with renovations currently under way.

The first order of business, Brown said, is reopening the 40-bed psychiatric hospital.

"We're reintroducing a need that was removed," Frazier said.

"I'm grateful to be a part of this," Frazier added. "We share the same mission. ... Being a Christian company that accepts everyone and isolates no one is a big deal."

Frazier loves the crisis-to-career model ARC utilizes.

"From the moment of crisis all the way through their transition of care, ARC has a pulse on that," Frazier said.

Frazier and Brown both said they understand some of the challenges the Bellefonte campus faces, such as the stigma attached to addiction.

"ARC has done their due diligence about communication, and that's the way we overcome some of these barriers, is through communication and transparency."

Since all of this is brand new to the area, Frazier said he plans to be patient with those with concerns, but his main concern is solutions, he said.

"The solution we bring to the problems is what's going to carry us over," he said. "It's (the campus is) going to be safe. It's going to meet the community's needs.

"We want to help, and I want to be part of the solution."

(606) 326-2664 — asnyder@dailyindependent.com