Gerard's Mason City center sold to
Cedar Rapids treatment group
December 13, 2006
By JOHN SKIPPER, of The Globe Gazette
MASON CITY — Four Oaks, one of the
largest child treatment programs in Iowa, is now operating the Mason
City campus of Gerard Treatment Center.
Nexus, a Minnesota company,
acquired both the Austin, Minn., and Mason City campuses of Gerard
in 1999. It will retain the Austin site.
The Mason City campus will now be
known as Four Oaks.
The Mason City operation is a
residential treatment center that has served male and female
children ages 5 to 13 with emotional and behavioral disorders
for more than 30 years.
On Dec. 1, Four Oaks took over
operations and staff for the 46-bed center. It is headquartered in
Cedar Rapids and operates similar residential treatment centers in
Cedar Rapids, Independence, Iowa City, Monticello and Bertram.
"We are excited about the
opportunity to continue providing residential treatment services to
kids at the Mason City location," said Ron Karkosh, senior program
manager of Four Oaks.
"We currently serve Iowa kids from
all 99 counties in our eastern and central Iowa locations, so this
will extend our presence in northern Iowa significantly."
Gerard Treatment Programs has more
than a 30-year history of treating children with emotional and
behavioral problems.
Jim D’Angelo, chief executive
officer of Nexus, said, "The completion of our plan to transfer
these programs is truly in the best interest of the Mason City
campus - both for staff and residents."
Four Oaks is is accredited by the
Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children Inc.
It provides family-based programs that help children grow into
caring, competent and responsible adults and encourages development
of community attitudes and support systems to assure their success.
More information is available on the company’s Web site,
www.fouroaks.org.
Reach John Skipper at (641)
421-0537 or
john.skipper@globegazette.com
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