With the help of Duke Health and other leading community organizations, Durham-based TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers) broke ground on Oct. 13 on a comprehensive care center that will consolidate all its health-related services and intake offices under one roof to streamline admissions and care.

"We are delighted to be partnering with TROSA in the construction of this building," said A. Eugene Washington, MD, Duke University Chancellor for Health Affairs and president and CEO of Duke University Health System. "But this is about much more than construction of a new facility. Building healthy communities is an important strategic priority for Duke Health, and we have identified 'Advancing Health Together' as our mission. In this case, we're building literally and figuratively -- actual construction and building for the future in terms of the programs that will stem from here."

Washington said TROSA exemplifies the type of community partner Duke Health values and that Duke looks forward to seeing its community partnerships grow and prosper. The recent evolution of Duke Medicine into Duke Health, he said, signaled our intention to adopt more comprehensive approaches to health that extend beyond medical care and into population health improvement. 

"Having shifted our thinking to overall health, we need partners from a cross-section of sectors and stakeholders. TROSA serves as an exemplar," Washington said. "It has shown the way in terms of how it actually connects with government, leaders in business as well as leaders in other sectors in order to actually drive forward improvements in health throughout our community."

The new building, located on TROSA's main campus on James Street, is scheduled to open in July 2017. Among other spaces, it will include seven medical exam rooms and four medical and clinical offices. 

TROSA was founded in 1994 and is recognized as one of the region's most successful drug rehabilitation centers. In 2015, TROSA coordinated more than 11,000 health-related issues and more than 3,300 off-site specialty care appointments, as well as more than 2,000 assessments of people interested in entering its program.