Starting this week, LewisGale Hospital Alleghany will offer a new inpatient treatment service for people with severe drug or alcohol addictions.

The New Vision program, operated by SpecialCare Hospital Management Corp. in partnership with the hospital, will stabilize adult patients who are going through withdrawal or have become incapacitated due to substance abuse.

Although inpatient detoxification programs are offered by other providers in the Roanoke Valley, the New Vision program will be the first of its kind for the Alleghany Highlands.

With a typical stay of three to five days, the program of medical stabilization is seen as a transition to longer-term, outpatient treatment.

“This is really the first step” in a patient’s recovery, said Greg Madsen, CEO of LewisGale Hospital Alleghany.

The service, which initially will be available to two or three patients at a time, will begin Feb. 27.