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GREENSBORO — Officials have hired a Concord-based contractor to run the Guilford County’s troubled treatment center for uninsured people struggling with addiction.

The county has awarded DayMark Recovery Services the $2.2 million yearly contract to operate the Guilford Substance Abuse Treatment Center at 5209 W. Wendover Ave.

“We could not have asked for a provider with greater knowledge and experience in best practices and addiction recovery,” said Billie Martin Pierce, director of the Guilford Center, which oversees county programs involving substance abuse, mental health and developmental disabilities.

DayMark will replace Bridgeway Behavioral Health of Missouri, a company that lost its contract with the county after the death of a detox patient at the center in January.

Bridgeway has been running the center on a month-to-month basis since June while Guilford sought a new provider.

DayMark administrators spent Tuesday at the Wendover facility talking with the current staff, said Billy West, president of the company that operates similar facilities in Davidson, Forsyth, Randolph, Rockingham and 13 other counties.

DayMark will retain at least some current staff members at the 56-bed treatment center. The company is doing interviews this week to determine who will stay.

“We’re not here to revamp everything,” he said. “We want to find out what’s working well, and if possible, enhance it. And whatever is not working well, let’s fix it before we open.’

DayMark hopes to take control Nov. 1, but the exact date depends on what needs to be done to get the center running at full potential, West said.

County officials selected DayMark from among three finalists, Pierce said. She noted the company has been in business since 2004 and treated more than 38,000 people with “addictive disorders.”

The center has suffered through a number of problems since opening about two years ago. Even before the detox tragedy early this year, state inspectors cited the center for poor record keeping, inadequate staff training and improper handling of medications.

The center was fined $30,000 after the death in January and required to submit an improvement plan before being approved to accept new patients.

The investigation after the tragedy ultimately caused the county to stop offering detox services at the center. Another private company, Addiction Recovery Care Associates, has been filling the gap at other locations.

The county and DayMark can decide later whether to resume detox services at the Wendover center, West said.

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com