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Description

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Livengrins Mission
To empower the individual to embrace recovery and break the cycle of addiction by providing comprehensive integrated and holistic treatment services

Livengrins Vision
To continue to earn the respect and trust of our patients and our profession and the recognition as one of the premier providers of addiction treatment services in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation

Livengrins Values
Our mission and vision can best be achieved by
Respecting the rights and meeting the needs of our patients their families and our coworkers thus enriching the communities we serve while maintaining our commitment to professional and financial integrity

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History

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In 1966 a Philadelphiaarea advertising executive and entrepreneur Standish Forde Hansell was finishing renovations to a fiftyyearold quotcountry estate housequot hed purchased on what had been the Brice Farm in Bensalem His plan was to open a retirement community where gentlemen of means could continue a pastoral lifestyle and quotlive and grinquot into their golden years

Instead on the advice of a few trusted friends and according to one account outspoken actor Orson Welles he turned his 46acre property into one of the very first nonhospital facilities in Pennsylvania to treat alcoholism

This was a courageous decision for Mr Hansell It was long before the time when public figures such as exFirst Lady Betty Ford helped bring a cultural acceptance to alcoholism and drug addiction as medical diseases rather than failings of will power and morality There was no marketing research that said this was a good business idea no insurance firms willing to pay the bill for treatment and no public outcry that alcoholics were in need of compassion and assistance

Mr Hansell believed in his heart that there was a tremendous need in the region for a nonprofit organization to extend an offer of help to the many people that had been disenfranchised from the health care system and in some cases society itself

The oftenwhimsical Hansell with his advertising pros sense of whats catchy kept the Livengrin name

In the ensuing years the Foundation became known as a trailblazer Throughout the 1970s numerous innovations were launched such as a unique Family Education Program and extensive Aftercare and Outpatient Services A quotbreakthroughquot change came in what had become the traditional 28day residential treatment model Livengrin launched its new quot21day programquot maintaining that it could provide intensive and costeffective care in a shorter period of time followed up by a longerterm commitment to outpatient counseling

This approach was clearly years ahead of its time It helped Livengrin in the 1980s to pioneer shorterterm residential treatment programs and thus meet the specifications of and the challenges posed by providerbased managed care services for health maintenance organizations in Southeastern Pennsylvania

The organization also worked effectively with the business and labor communities which began to identify chemicallydependent people within their workforce and instead of firing them offered them opportunities for treatment recovery and a return to a productive lifestyle

Standish Forde Hansell died in February 1983 having seen his beloved Livengrin Foundation become a successful nationally recognized provider of treatment services to male and female alcoholics and their families Within the next few years Livengrin broadened its scope of services to include expert treatment for drug addiction codependency and dual diagnosis for those with mental health issues as well as chemical dependency

Livengrins offerings grew along with its surroundings The original location in Bensalem just north of Philadelphia served the rapidlyexpanding quotcommuter communitiesquot of Bucks County The Foundation grew into a network of Pennsylvania counseling centers throughout Bucks Montgomery Delaware Lehigh and Philadelphia Counties The main campus is also centrallylocated for the I95 corridor between New England the New YorkPhiladelphiaBaltimoreDC metropolitan region and the southern states

New programs have been created to respond to emerging needs such as the healthcare professionals track that assists physicians nurses and pharmacists The Foundation is now an education hub where scores of postgraduate students and professionals come to study and intern Livengrin helped launch the successful MidAtlantic Addiction Training Institute MAATI which provides educational opportunities for healthcare and education professionals to learn more about addiction and its pervasive effect upon our society

In 1966 Standish Hansell probably did not imagine the extent to which the seeds he planted would take root and grow into the caring professional and progressive organization that exists today But he did have the belief that he and his colleagues were making a positive contribution to the community and the public and he had the courage to follow through with his convictions

Interior photos courtesy of Evening Bulletin TemplePaley Archives