First, I want to thank everyone for their continued commitment to our patient’s health and safety. We’re all experiencing a tremendous flow of information right now, and it can be challenging to keep it straight. As we continue to respond to State and Federal guidance, please remember to be patient and kind. Each of us manages stress in our own way, so please give each other room (literally and figuratively) to do so.
Below is a description of how we are adjusting operations. As we have said from the beginning, our priority is to ensure we remain accessible to those who need us. Anxiety, isolation, and questions about the unknown are significant triggers for our patients. Our role is to ensure connectivity, while limiting measures that may increase risk to them and our staff.
• We will continue amplifying basic precautions for all. We’re doing so verbally in groups, team meetings, with signage throughout buildings, and during individual sessions.
• Patients who are in high risk categories (over 60, and/or with chronic conditions of heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes) should be discouraged from attending groups and offered alternative ways to maintain treatment continuity.
• All patients should hear they are not mandated to attend treatment sessions if they are feeling uncomfortable doing so. We do ask that they be working with their teams to arrange phone visits to avoid disruption to care.
• While we are not cancelling group services, program leadership is evaluating our group rooms to determine maximum allowed for each space. Those groups that consistently run at high attendance should be encouraged to split into multiples.
• We are reducing census in our Gresham Men’s and Women’s residential programs to relieve pressure on the space and improve our capacity for distancing efforts.
• Our Opioid Treatment Programs are following Federal and State guidance to identify temporary measures that lessen the frequency of clinic attendance. Continuity of access to medications is critical, as are strategies to reduce pressure on shared spaces.
Thank you again. In crisis, we find creativity.
Alison Noice
Executive Director