The History of Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health Centers
The history of Kolmac starts with Dr. George Kolodner’s assignment to Bethesda Naval Hospital as a young Navy doctor. There he saw patients with alcohol addiction recover in the hospital’s inpatient treatment program. After leaving the Navy in 1973, Dr. Kolodner decided to develop a treatment model that would replicate the clinical success he had observed at Bethesda, but on an outpatient rather than an inpatient basis.
Kolmac History Timeline
1973: Beginnings
Kolmac program, co-founded by Dr. George Kolodner and Jim McMahon, for the treatment of alcohol problems, opens in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was the first intensive outpatient (IOP) addiction rehabilitation program in the country – all other treatment at the time was being delivered in a residential or partial-hospitalization setting.
1975: Recognition
The clinical results of the program are presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the National Council on Alcoholism.
1984: Expansion
- Program begins treating patients with cocaine dependence
- Kolmac begins teaching affiliation with Georgetown University School of Medicine.
- Second location opens in downtown business district of Washington, D.C.
- First 1,000 patients treated
1985: Harm Reduction
- Program begins treating patients with opioid use disorders and using naltrexone
1988: Expansion
- Third location opens in Gaithersburg, Maryland
1989: Milestone
- 2,000 patients treated since program inception
1996: Milestone
- 5,000 patients treated since program inception
2003: Expanding Harm Reduction Services
- Buprenorphine is used for the treatment of patients with opioid use disorders, improving our success rate for this population
2006: Rewards for Lifelong Service
- George Kolodner receives the Outstanding Physician Award for Excellence in Addictions Treatment from the Maryland Chapter of the National Council l on Alcohol and Drug Dependence.
- George Kolodner receives the Community Service Award from the Vanguard Foundation for outstanding service to the community for helping people in need to receive addictions treatment.
2007: Helping Those in Need
- The Kolmac Foundation is formed. The Foundation is a non-profit organization set-up to provide financial support to those who are unable to afford the full cost of addiction treatment
2008: Expansion
- Kolmac purchases Partners in Recovery program and opens fifth location in Towson, MD on the campus of and in collaboration with Sheppard Pratt Hospital.
2009: National Recognition
- Kolmac named the area’s Best Substance Abuse Treatment program in a Washingtonian Magazine poll of 1,500 mental health professionals. 2009 was the only year in which this category was included.
2011: Expansion
- Sixth location opens in downtown Baltimore, Maryland.
2012: Merging to Expand
- Kolmac Baltimore office merges with Crossroads Centers.
2013: Milestone
- 20,000 patients treated
2014: Support for Gambling Addiction
- Treatment for gambling disorders begins
2016: Progress, Change, Looking Forward
- Name is changed from Kolmac Clinic to Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health Centers
2023: Milestones
- 50 years of innovative IOP
- 50,000 patients served
