The Youngstown Neil Kennedy Recovery Center on Rush Blvd. closed - at least temporarily -  on December 31, according to the chairman of the board, Thomas Sanborn.

The longest-running freestanding treatment facility in the US closed after its affiliation agreement with Gateway Rehabilitation of out Pittsburgh was terminated after more than 30 years. The facility first opened in Youngstown in 1946.

Sanborn said the patients and the staff that wished to be transferred are currently working with Merdian Health Care, whom Sanborn said they are negotiating with Meridian to hopefully be able to reopen the facility in the future. Sanborn said he is looking at this as a transitioning period and added throughout the process the primary concern was for the patients and the staff.

Neil Kennedy Recovery Centers is a treatment facility for drug and alcohol addiction in the eastern Ohio region that is the oldest treatment center of its kind. 

The Neil Kennedy Fellowship Hall is still open and operating.