Pavillon 30 Years of Addiction Recovery in Western North Carolina, Earns National Accreditation
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Washingtoner -- Pavillon, a private nonprofit substance use disorder treatment center in the Blue Ridge foothills of Western North Carolina, is celebrating 30 years of service in 2026. Since opening its doors in Polk County in 1996, Pavillon has cared for thousands of adults and families guided by a single mission: to bring hope, healing and lasting recovery to those who suffer from alcoholism, drug addictions, and related disorders.

The anniversary arrives during one of the most significant years in the organization's history. Pavillon recently earned Evaluation and Treatment Accreditation from the Federation of State Physician Health Programs (FSPHP), meeting all accreditation standards with no corrective actions required. Pavillon also announced plans to return to in-person care in Greenville, S.C., with a new Partial Hospitalization Program opening in 2027. Alumni, former staff, and referring professionals will be welcomed back to its Mill Spring campus October 16–17 for a 30th Anniversary Alumni Reunion and Celebration.

"Thirty years ago, a small group of people who had found recovery themselves looked at this land and saw a place where others could heal," said Barbara Bennett, CEO of Pavillon. "Everything we've built since then has come from listening to the people who reach out to us. When they told us they couldn't wait, we changed how we admitted patients. When they needed medical care to get started safely, we built a medical detox unit. When they needed deeper treatment, or virtual care, we found a way. That hasn't changed in 30 years."

From Quebec to the Blue Ridge

Pavillon's roots reach back further than its North Carolina campus. The program began in Canada and was founded by Gilles and Liliane Desjardins, who led it for 24 years in

Quebec. Liliane Desjardins, a certified clinical addiction specialist, developed the treatment approach that shaped the program. As a growing share of patients came from the United States, the Desjardins, with the help of recovery advocates, stakeholders, and grateful alumni who raised funds for the move, relocated the program to 160 acres of woods, lakes and waterfalls in Mill Spring.

In its early years, Pavillon followed a closed-cohort model: patients entered together and moved through treatment on a fixed rotation. In the early 2000s, under the leadership of then-CEO, Anne Vance, Pavillon shifted to open admissions so that people who needed treatment immediately would no longer be turned away to wait for the next admissions cycle. Today, admissions staff answer calls 24 hours a day and same-day admission is available.

Three Decades of Growth, Driven by Need

Each expansion in Pavillon's history responded to a gap patients and families were facing:

• Primary residential treatment. Pavillon's six-week (42-day) residential program remains the heart of its care, giving patients time to stabilize and build a foundation for recovery, with timelines adjusted to individual need.
• Extended Care. In 2007, Pavillon launched a six-week Extended Care program for patients facing persistent relapse, offering more time and autonomy to address underlying trauma and core issues through experiential methods including equine therapy and psychodrama.
• Virtual outpatient care. In March 2020, Pavillon launched a virtual Intensive Outpatient Program for adults across North Carolina and South Carolina, followed by continuing care, recovery management, and relapse prevention services. In 2025, Pavillon extended its lifetime alumni benefits to patients who complete its outpatient programs, not only those who complete residential treatment.
• Professional evaluation and treatment. Pavillon has long served licensed and safety-sensitive professionals, including physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and nurses, as well as attorneys, executives, and business owners, through a dedicated professionals track.
• Comprehensive Assessment. In 2025, Pavillon introduced a five-day bio-psycho-social-spiritual Comprehensive Assessment for individuals and families who are not in a professional monitoring program but need clear, expert answers. Medical, psychiatric, psychological, clinical, and spiritual care staff contribute to a single integrated report and consultation.
• Partial Hospitalization in Greenville. The planned program, at 103 Pelham Commons Blvd. in Greenville, S.C., is expected to open in 2027 and will offer full-day, in-person treatment five days a week for adults who need more structure than routine outpatient care but can live at home. It marks Pavillon's return to in-person treatment in Greenville. The organization previously ran an in-person outpatient center at the Pelham Commons office to support South Carolina residents. The Partial Hospitalization Program will be the first in-person care offered at that location since Covid (March 2020) and the first program of its kind for Pavillon in Greenville.

National Recognition for Care of Professionals

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The FSPHP Evaluation and Treatment Accreditation is a three-year distinction that recognizes programs meeting national standards for evaluating and treating professionals referred by state Physician Health Programs and licensing or monitoring boards. Pavillon was accredited for both its four-day Multidisciplinary Evaluation and its residential and extended care treatment programs, meeting all standards without a single corrective action. The accreditation runs from Dec. 18, 2025, through Dec. 18, 2028.

"Doctors, dentists and pharmacists hold other people's lives in their hands, and they deserve care that meets the highest standard," said Dr. Michael Wilkerson, Pavillon's Medical Director. "This accreditation confirms what our referring partners have trusted for decades: that our evaluations are rigorous and independent, and that our treatment prepares professionals for a safe return to their work."

Spirituality at the Core

While many treatment programs focus on clinical care alone, Pavillon has treated the spiritual dimension of recovery as central since its founding. Every assessment and treatment plan address a person's biological, psychological, social, and spiritual health, meaning, purpose, values, and connection, alongside medical and clinical needs. Pavillon's spiritual care is offered without dogma and is open to people of every faith and of none.

"It is a spiritual program, and they were not afraid to say that it was," said Tom Edwards, Pavillon's former marketing director who helped bring the program from Canada, describing the founders' approach.

A Team That Knows the Stakes

Pavillon is small by design, with an average counselor-to-patient ratio of about 1 to 8. Its clinical and medical team includes Medical Director, Michael Wilkerson, MD, a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (FASM); two full-time clinical psychologists; a psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner; a spiritual director; licensed therapists specializing in addiction; and recovery coaches. Many staff members bring decades of experience treating people in active addiction and many are in long-term recovery themselves.

Here for Life

For Pavillon, the true measure of 30 years is its alumni, who now live and work in 44 states, Canada, South America, Bermuda, and Belize. Among patients who responded to a 12-month follow-up survey, 91% reported remaining sober a year after completing treatment.

Pavillon's commitment does not end at discharge. Every alumnus of its residential and outpatient programs may return to campus at any point for the rest of their life and stay in the Pavillon Alumni House free of charge, sharing meals, sitting in on lectures, meeting with a counselor or simply walking the trails, waterfalls, and lakeshore where their recovery began. Alumni also stay connected through local support groups, a smartphone app, and an annual reunion that draws people back to Mill Spring from across the country.

"We tell every patient that we are here for them for life, and we mean it literally," said Bennett. "Recovery doesn't end on the day someone goes home. Whether it's one year later or 20, there is always a room, a meal, and someone who knows them waiting here."

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Alumni Come Home for the 30th

Pavillon will celebrate the milestone where so many of its alumni began their recovery. The Pavillon Alumni Reunion and 30th Anniversary Celebration, set for October 16–17 on the Mill Spring campus, will bring alumni, former staff, families, and friends back for two days of reflection, fellowship, and celebration.

On Friday, October 16, Dr. Mel Pohl, a nationally recognized expert on chronic pain and substance use disorders, will give a professional presentation open to Pavillon's referring partners and alumni. Friday also includes a 12-Step reflection and meditation walk, a boat tour on nearby Lake Lure, and an evening campfire meeting with a coining ceremony honoring recovery milestones.

On Saturday, October 17, the keynote address will be delivered by Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, former drummer for Hootie & the Blowfish, who has spoken openly about his own recovery. The day also features remarks from Sister Geneva, Pavillon's former spiritual director, and an update from the Alumni Advisory Committee on its 2027 Alumni Strategic Plan before the weekend concludes with a closing ceremony.

Registration details for both the professional presentation and the reunion are available at pavillon.org. Members of the media are welcome to attend the professional presentation; contact Kim Nelson to arrange coverage.

About Pavillon

Pavillon is a private, nonprofit substance use disorder treatment center founded in 1996 on a 160-acre campus in Mill Spring, N.C. Its mission is to bring hope, healing and lasting recovery to individuals and families who suffer from alcoholism, drug addictions and related disorders. Pavillon offers medical detox, six-week primary residential treatment, extended care, virtual outpatient services for North Carolina and South Carolina residents, family programming, Multidisciplinary Evaluations for monitored professionals and Comprehensive Assessments. Pavillon is CARF-accredited, accredited by the Federation of State Physician Health Programs, licensed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and a provider member of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP). Learn more at https://www.pavillon.org/ or call (828) 694-2300.