Clinical (Archived Posts)

Project Turnabout's Fitness Facility (On Main Campus)

When entering into an addiction recovery program for chemical dependency or compulsive gambling, your body most likely is not performing to the best of its health abilities.

Recognizing the importance of physical activity, as part of a holistic approach to recovery, Project Turnabout incorporates daily physical fitness into each patients individualized treatment plan.

When you increase your physical activity, it can have a wonderful effect by decreasing your stress levels, relieving anxiety and promoting positive self image. These are all important aspects of successful recovery, both during and after a treatment stay.

Project Turnabout’s full-time Fitness Trainer, Dan Rorvik often hears first hand from patients how grateful they are for having physical fitness integrated into their daily schedules.

“Most of the time the patients disclose that they would have never tried to lift weights, engage in a walking routine or try different sports before they came to treatment and found out they actually love doing it,” Dan said. “It’s exciting to me to see the new or renewed love for physical fitness they leave with.”

Dan is an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified personal trainer. He has been part of the multidisciplinary team at Project Turnabout for four years. As the Fitness Trainer, Dan works with patients in proper lifting techniques, identifying and overcoming problem areas, staying active at whatever level the patient may be, and promoting a variety of different activities to keep patients engaged in staying active.

“Fitness is so important for the patients we serve because it teaches them how to channel and relieve stress and anxiety in positive and healthy ways,” Dan said. “Participation in different games or sports promotes teamwork and communication they may have never engaged in.”

When patients prepare to leave Project Turnabout they are encouraged to continue incorporating physical fitness into their daily routines. Dan is available to help customize a fitness plan for each patient to take with them. Each patient is provided general fitness activities and stretch routines to bring with them upon discharge.

Continued physical fitness is encouraged for success in recovery and a healthy balanced lifestyle. We encourage everyone to take advantage of the changing seasons and get active outdoors playing sports or going for walks.

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, CARF, International announced that Project Turnabout has been accredited for a period of three years for its Men’s and Women’s Intensive Short-Term Residential, Intensive Long- Term Residential, Men’s Medium Intensity Transitional Living, Outpatient Services, and our Vanguard Center for Compulsive Gambling. This is the first Three- Year Accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has awarded to Project Turnabout.

This accreditation represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organizations substantial conformance to the more than 1,400 CARF Standards. An organization receiving the Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process.  It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

Project Turnabout is a not-for-profit organization with its main campus in Granite Falls, MN, and locations in Willmar, Marshall, and Redwood Falls.  It has been providing services since 1970.

CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served.  Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now as CARF International, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.  For more information about the accreditation process, please visit the CARF website at www.carf.org.

For additional information, contact Mark Sannerud, Director of Development and Marketing/Outreach at Project Turnabout at 800-862-1453 or visit us at www.projectturnabout.org

February of 2012 marks the 20th Anniversary of Project Turnabout’s Vanguard Compulsive Gambling Treatment Program.  The Vanguard Program is the only residential treatment facility with a specialized and separate treatment program for compulsive gambling in the state of Minnesota and one of a few in the nation. 

The humble beginnings of the Vanguard Program began by receiving its first grant from the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services to conduct outpatient programming with off-campus housing.  The program was held in one room of Project Turnabout’s Granite Falls Campus. All compulsive gambling treatment programming was structured and conducted separately from the chemical dependency programs. 

After multiple relocations of services and surviving the devastating effects of an F-4 tornado, Vanguard eventually found its permanent home on Project Turnabout’s Granite Falls Campus.  In 2006, Vanguard received the “Outstanding Contributor to the Field” award from the National Council on Problem Gambling.  

The staff of Vanguard has been given the opportunity to witness, first hand, that recovery is real and individuals and families can and do experience a better quality of life.  To date, the Vanguard Program has been able to help more than 2,807 individuals, from all over the world, find and enter recovery from compulsive gambling.  

“What started out as a one room program with four staff people is now a 20-bed inpatient treatment facility with twelve staff.  It’s been a privilege, not only to work with all the talented and dedicated staff throughout the years, but with all the individuals who have come here for help.  We have become a family in recovery and will continue our commitment to the compulsive gambler and their families.”   - Sandi Brustuen, Vanguard Unit Coordinator           

If you feel you or a loved one need help for a compulsive gambling addiction, please contact Project Turnabout today at 1-800-862-1453.  Funding may be available for Minnesota residents to assist with treatment costs.  Phone calls are free and confidential. 

The Center for Women’s Recovery at Project Turnabout understands that living with the disease of chemical dependency is a different experience for women than it is for men.  The Center helps women understand the effects of their addiction and prepares them for the special challenges that they may face in recovery. 

“My daughter has been drug free for 8 1/2 years and it is only with your help that she was able to turn her life around.”

Recovery from alcohol and drugs promotes freedom towards growth and change in the mind, body and spirit.  Women are welcomed into a community of ongoing recovery and growth that helps them face their addictions clearly and proactively, as they would face any other disease.  

The Center for Women’s Recovery recognizes the importance of healthy living.  Fun and healthy physical activity is integrated into each patient’s personal treatment plan, along with a well balanced meal plan.  With the help of our multi-disciplinary team, women in the Center receive the tools they need to help build a positive self-image, which is something a majority of women struggle with while using. 

We employ the Twelve Step Program of abstinence to form an essential core to the recovery process.  This model for healing incorporates healthy, balanced relationships with self, peers and other support persons and an effective source of spiritual help.  

Because women have complex lives and needs, both residential (short-term and long-term care options) and outpatient programs are offered.  The Center offers a warm, feminine environment that projects respect and dignity for the individual and celebrates women’s empowerment and recovery.  Most importantly, the Center’s staff holds vision, love and energy for women in recovery. 

For more information or to inquire about or arrange for admission, please call Marti, Mark B., Kelli, or Bob at 1-800-862-1453.



Local Law Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs on “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day” on Saturday, October 29, 2011. The events will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at designated locations. The service is free and anonymous – no questions will be asked.

During the “Take Back Event” in April 2010, Americans turned in 376,593 pounds—188 tons—of prescription drugs at nearly 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners.

This strategic initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue – the growing rate of prescription drugs – by providing a place for safe disposal of prescription medications. Medicines in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse by people of all ages. Studies show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and/or friends, most of which are taken from their homes.

More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, (1) which is more than the number of cocaine, hallucinogen, heroin, and inhalant abusers combined. Every day 2,100 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time, and 60% of teens who have abused prescription painkillers did so before the age of 15. (2)

Abuse of prescription drugs includes using the medication against medical recommendations or taking medications that were not prescribed to the user. This can often lead to dangerous reactions and the possibility of accidental poisonings and overdoses.

If you or someone you know has medications left over from a prescription it is essential to understand the importance of proper disposal. Flushing medications down the toilet, throwing them in the trash or any other improper disposal methods pose potential safety and health hazards.

To learn more and find a take back location near you please visit the DEA’s Website or contact Amber Tisue, Region 5 ATOD Prevention Coordinator at atisue@projectturnabout.org.

(1) 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health

(2) The 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Partnership for Drug Free America