Bradford Health Services has filed a formal challenge to Longleaf Recovery & Wellness’s Certificate of Need application for Longleaf Lodge, a 60-bed residential addiction treatment campus proposed for the Sunshine Farms site in Sterrett, located in Shelby County.
The CON Review Board is set to hear the case October 15.
The filing marks Bradford’s second attempt this year to halt the project.
In March, the Statewide Health Coordinating Council approved, and Governor Kay Ivey signed, a state plan adjustment authorizing 60 new substance-use treatment beds in Shelby County.
Letters of support for Longleaf’s proposed project have been submitted by Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell, and many others.
Alabama-based Longleaf currently operates four outpatient facilities across the state and has provided both mental health and substance use treatment since 2021, treating more than 1,600 clients.
The Longleaf Lodge plan includes 10 medically monitored detox beds and 50 residential beds and would be one of the few in-state residential options for commercially insured patients not operated by Bradford.
In Alabama’s residential addiction-treatment market, Bradford Health Services holds a de facto monopoly.
Bradford operates residential campuses in Warrior and Madison. Its Warrior site alone is licensed for 182 beds, giving Bradford the largest in-state footprint for residential substance-use care.
Bradford, a private-equity-backed company whose main focus has been expansion outside of Alabama in recent years, argues the expansion is untimely and unnecessary, citing capacity at its Warrior and Madison campuses.
However, Longleaf says Alabama’s shortage is forcing care across state lines.
Its Birmingham Recovery Center refers more than 40 patients a month out of state for residential treatment. Alabama’s overdose rate has more than doubled since 2014.
“Alabama families don’t need another delay. They need a place to heal close to home,” Colin Harris, Longleaf’s CEO told Yellowhammer News. “The Statewide Health Coordinating Council studied the data, voted to add 60 beds in Shelby County, and Governor Ivey signed that adjustment in March.”
Harris said their plan for Longleaf Lodge is ready to go.
“Every month we wait is another month of Alabama families driving hundreds of miles, paying more for care, or giving up altogether,” he added.
“This is about doing what’s right for Alabamians.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
