Addiction treatment centers eliminate beds, turn patients away due to social distancing guidelines
Addiction treatment centers are struggling to treat patients in the face of a global pandemic.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) – Addiction treatment centers are struggling to treat patients in the face of a global pandemic.
High Point Treatment Center has thirty locations across the state of Massachusetts, and twelve in the city of New Bedford, but currently, the company is operating at just 70% of its normal capacity.
“Social distancing rules are really tough to implement inside of a treatment center. Really any way you can accommodate any type of social distancing is to reduce the bed capacity.”
Daniel Mumbaeur, CEO of High Point, said in order to adhere to the social distancing guidelines, they had to eliminate more than 150 beds, and have been forced to turn away people seeking help with their addiction.
“It’s heartbreaking quite honestly. We do this work cause we’re passionate about the folks that we serve. We know that addiction treatment works, and to be in a position that someone’s in crisis and you can’t help them… It’s kind of a hopeless feeling,” said Mumbaeur.
Last year, High Point had 30 thousand admissions, but this year, they’re expecting a surge, and are preparing for people to relapse.
Mumbaeur said the company is putting together hiring plans and working on ways to get the beds back open for those who need them once the economy re-opens.
But in the meantime, he said, it worries him that there’s a population they can’t reach.
“You worry, what are folks doing in social isolation? Are they safe, are they doing well? And if they need treatment, will they consider seeking treatment at these times because of fear of the virus?”
High Point has had three staff members test positive for COVID-19, but so far no patients have contracted the virus. Mumbaeur said, the center is also struggling with decreased staffing, as many are in quarantine or are high-risk. The Massachusetts Department of Health requires a certain patient-staff ratio, so some locations have had to limit their number of patients.
Mumbaeur said, at the start of the pandemic, High Point had trouble getting PPE for its employees, but they still reported to work.
“There’s a lot of unsung heroes out there, and certainly I do believe that folks that are doing this work in the addiction field need to be counted among those unsung heroes.”
Right now, the center has 400 people in addiction treatment and around 100 in family shelters.
Counselors and psychiatrists are doing telehealth calls with patients. But, Mumbaeur says, for those with substance addictions, isolation mixed with a global pandemic, could be a dangerous combo, and it’s the center’s biggest fear.
“The addiction community relies a lot on social support. They rely on going to self-help meetings, they rely on their peers. Being isolated, being home alone, creates anxiety, creates depression. Then you add on the job loss on top of it. You worry about the level of despair folks have.”
© WLNE-TV 2020
