Grays Harbor County’s first overnight detox program could soon be coming to Aberdeen, as well as a new transitional housing facility.
Thanks to a recent $1,297,499 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce, the Lifeline Connections treatment facility in downtown Aberdeen intends to open its own detox facility with beds for those who need to get over drug withdrawal.
“It’s great. It’s the help we’ve wanted to provide for this community,” said Jeff Cotta, the clinical director for Aberdeen’s Lifeline Connections facility.
As of now, Aberdeen’s Lifeline Connections office only provides outpatient treatment and medication for people suffering from drug abuse. Whenever a patient needs overnight care to get through the painful withdrawal process, the clinic directs them to a different facility in Olympia or elsewhere since Grays Harbor has none.
“If someone comes in and needs service like withdrawal management, we will ship them out of the area for it, because there’s no place local,” said Cotta.
Because there’s no dedicated detox site, Lifeline Connections CEO Jared Sanford said most Harborites who detox end up in the emergency room, but he said that’s not an ideal environment for them.
With the state funding, Sanford is designing the area’s first such detox program, complete with 14 beds. Patients in the program would receive medicine to lessen the pain of withdrawal and around-the-clock care from medical staff.
“Our goal is to provide a safe and comfortable place to go through withdrawal,” said Sanford, who oversees several treatment centers around Washington.
The new facility will be built in the back of Lifeline Connections’ current building at 311 South I St. in Aberdeen, which they currently rent out.
Each bed would have an individual room, and the entire facility would resemble a typical doctor’s office, said Cotta.
The program would be staffed with a team of nurses, doctors, counselors and substance-abuse professionals, which need to be hired.
Sanford added that after completing detox, counselors will assist patients to find further treatment and housing to get them back on their feet.
The next step for Sanford is to work with the City of Aberdeen to change the zoning codes so they can operate a detox program in the building, but he didn’t say how long that would take or when the program could be up and running. He has also been consulting with an architect for the project.
The Department of Commerce grant is part of a larger $39 million it’s providing to 18 health care providers around the state.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee stated in a release that that this money addresses “a fundamental need to grow capacity for care in community settings, where patients can be closer to families, friends and support systems.”
The funds will also go to a new transitional housing facility in Grays Harbor County.
Great Rivers Behavioral Health, which services five Washington Counties including Grays Harbor, was given $1,749,500 to add 32 beds to three new transitional housing facilities.
One of these transitional houses will be in the Aberdeen and Hoquiam area, according to Todd Broderius from Great Rivers Behavioral Health. It will house between eight and 12 people and is intended for those with behavioral health issues who need help with housing.
“What we’re hearing is housing is a huge issue, and they need housing to have a safe place to get back into the community, get services started and land on their feet,” said Broderius.
This kind of housing is typically given to former prisoners and people who have just left mental health programs and need a place to stay that is safe and sober, Broderius said. The housing would be available to people who are clients of a variety of assistance groups such as Sea Mar or Catholic Community Services.
Great Rivers is currently looking at a property it is interested in buying for the transitional house, but Broderius said it wouldn’t be until early 2019 that it’s operational.
