Patient and Staff Safety Is Priority No. 1
To further protect our patients and staff, we have begun COVID-19 testing new patients coming into our residential and recovery housing sites, making our campuses even safer than before.
Testing launched last week at our site in Newberg, Oregon, and is beginning at other sites this week. Early reaction from patients in Oregon has been extremely positive. Not only are they grateful to access care for their potentially life-threatening addiction but also for the peace of mind knowing Hazelden Betty Ford is doing everything possible to protect them from COVID-19.
While our outpatient, mental health and family services have transitioned to virtual platforms, seven of our sites continue to accept patients into residential care and recovery housing. Robust safeguards implemented early on have successfully kept any known cases of COVID-19 out of our facilities, and patients have frequently mentioned feeling safer in our care than they would anywhere else. Testing, though, provides an important additional layer of protection.
As the world has learned, some people with COVID-19 have no visible symptoms but are still contagious to others. Our testing will help identify those individuals so we can direct them to the appropriate services until they are virus-free, rather than expose them to other patients on campus.
Not All Testing Is the Same
It is important to understand the difference between the two different types of testing available right now. One—a nasopharyngeal swab that detects an active infection—has proven far more accurate and reliable than the other—a blood sample that detects antibodies that may suggest a previous infection. Our medical leaders have chosen to implement the nasopharyngeal swab because of its superior effectiveness.
Your patients and clients who are tested for COVID-19 at our sites can rest assured they are getting the best available test in the world, our medical staff is well-trained to administer the test, and we are partnering with quality medical labs to read the results and provide the assurance that no one with a positive test is entering our facilities.
We have elevated our vigilance to implement every possible safeguard to keep COVD-19 out of our facilities—while keeping the focus on addiction treatment and recovery. With the enhancement of testing, we feel confident that our patients and their families will feel even more secure. Moving ahead, Hazelden Betty Ford will continue to stay on top of emerging testing alternatives and procedures, with patient and staff safety as our No. 1 priority.
RecoveryGo™ Virtual Services Available to New Patients And Families.
We continue to expand our virtual outpatient and mental health services—the cornerstone of Hazelden Betty Ford’s RecoveryGo™ telehealth solutions. Our insurance-eligible virtual group and individual therapy is available in numerous states, connecting patients and their care provider in real-time via personal computers and mobile devices in the comfort of their homes.
We are also now providing a one-day virtual family program, led by our world-class clinicians, available not just to the loved ones of our patients and families around the country, but to anyone anywhere whose family has been affected by addiction.
If your patients and clients are in need of outpatient addiction treatment, mental health or family programming, please reach out to us to learn more. Visit our website or call a patient access coordinator at 1‑800‑257‑7800.
Free Online Resources
Let's Talk Webinars
May 20 | noon – 1 p.m. Central
Differing Shades of Shame in Substance Use Disorders
Presenter: Kristen Schmidt, MD
Shame is a word often used by both patients and care providers in addressing substance use disorders. But there are differing shades of shame—with different implications for recovery. Join psychiatrist Kristen Schmidt, MD, to define and differentiate healthy and unhealthy aspects of shame that can either impede or promote recovery from substance use disorders. Dr. Schmidt will also discuss emerging evidence on the interaction between stigma and shame.
Online Support Meetings, Family Resources, Apps & More
Check out all of the free support resources to help keep your patients’ and clients’ recovery strong.
Podcasts
Let’s Talk Addiction and Recovery: An award-winning podcast series hosted by William C. Moyers
Check out all of our episodes including a new interview with children's therapist Jerry Moe talking about his work with Sesame Street in Communities to create developmentally appropriate messaging and resources to help kids everywhere who are impacted by parental addiction.
Listen, watch and share this new episode and many others now available.
Help Us Advocate
Hazelden Betty Ford is part of a broad coalition of behavioral health organizations and patient advocacy groups asking Congress for crisis funding to help ensure patients in need continue to get services during the pandemic. We are working with our trade association, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, to advocate for $38.5 billion in proposed direct payments to organizations providing mental health and substance use disorder treatment. You can help by thanking your own U.S. Senators and Representative if they have signed on in support of emergency funding for behavioral health organizations or by asking for their support.
24/7 Access to Help
Our Referent Relations team is available to support you and your patients and clients—now amid the pandemic and always.
To reach a member of the team and start an admission, call 1‑855‑348‑7018 or email us at [email protected]. Additional resources include the National Suicide Hotline at 1‑800‑273‑8255.
Thank you for your continued collaboration and commitment to the individuals and families that need our collective help now more than ever.
|
