Phoenix Programs Employee Directory

Phoenix Health Programs, Inc. is a nonprofit substance abuse treatment center offering a continuum of care for individuals with addiction and co-occurring mental illness. Phoenix Health Programs began in 1974 as a residential site, Phoenix House, where any man, regardless of his ability to pay, could get help for his alcoholism. Our mission and ima... ge has remained stable for over 35 years. As it was first named - Phoenix House - became a place where prejudice and coercion were not found. The founders and original directors, Buck and Betty Buchanon (1971-1992), were both openly involved in the AA movement. Since that beginning, Phoenix Health Programs has had only two other executive directors. Both Nancy Howard (ED 1992-1999) and Deborah Beste (ED 1999-2015) were brought into the addictions field because they loved a family member with alcoholism. In the early nineties, Phoenix Health Programs expanded its offerings to include outpatient drug and alcohol counseling to meet growing needs. Over the years, other new programs have been added including social setting detoxification, court assistance programs, drug court services, family counseling, gambling counseling, adolescent groups, and youth groups to offer a full array of treatment options for individuals with addictions. Phoenix Health Programs is a founding member of the Columbia-Boone County Basic Needs Coalition, which began in 1996 with the purpose of assisting the citizens of Columbia and Boone County in meeting their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and transportation. In 2001, with funding from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Phoenix Health Programs began providing supportive housing programs. With funding support from the Missouri Foundation for Health, Phoenix Programs began providing integrated substance abuse and psychiatric treatment in 2004 and integrated tobacco cessation treatment in 2006. In 2004, Phoenix Programs received a 5-year grant from SAMHSA to implement an evidence-based program, the Modified ...Read More