Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Awareness and Prevention

Coronavirus-Disease-Awareness-and-Prevention

Policy Update 

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Awareness and Prevention

Policies & Procedures

 

Policy: It is the Policy of Anchored Tides Recovery to identify risks as the CDC and WHO has identified COVID-19 as a pandemic, and expectations of the Coronavirus spreading throughout the United States. As a preemptive measure, Anchored Tides Recovery follows guidelines of the CDC and develops measures to properly look at risks associated with any pandemic situation. 

Procedure: As of March 12th, 2020, All Prescreening will include questions regarding travel to China, Asia, and Europe, flu-like symptoms and if the individual has come in contact with anyone who has COVID-19. These individuals will be monitored and referred out if flu-like symptoms occur. Anchored Tides Recovery will train staff on proper handwashing and prevention methods to prepare for potential issues if the virus is to spread. This will go into effect until the CDC declares COVID-19 as no longer a threat to the American public. 

 

The Following Questions have been added to the pre-screening assessment

  1. Have you traveled to Asia or Europe since the winter of 2019?
    1. If yes, what countries or parts of countries have you visited?
  2. Have you or any family members been exposed to Coronavirus?
  3. Are you at risk for exposure to coronavirus?
  4. Are you experiencing shortness of breath, coughing, fever, or other symptoms of Coronavirus and/or the flu?
    1. If Yes, have you been tested for the Coronavirus or are you willing to be tested?

If anyone is experiencing these symptoms and/or has traveled the staff will have the client reviewed by a healthcare provider to check for COVID-19 prior to admission. These results will be documented in the client file and will be accessible to staff to review.

At this time, all visitors to the facility will be canceled until further notice unless deemed absolutely necessary. Visitors if necessary, will be asked about recent exposure to COVID-19 and any health risks they may have. 

Patient safety is highly important of which the following posters will be placed at the front of the office:  

  • http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/docs/CoronaTravelEnglish.pdf  
  • https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/COVID19-ProtectYourselfandOthers.pdf

Anchored Tides Recovery has identified another risk area in our direct and indirect care staff, at this time the executive team has enabled an emergency preparedness plan to ensure those who are sick will have paid sick leave and an email will go to all staff regarding changes to company policy on sick leave to further help the containment of COVID-19.

  • all staff will receive information and training on COVID-19 as well as preventative and containment measures, they can consider. 
  • Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F [37.8° C] or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees should notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick.
  • Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor

All executive-level employees should be reviewing the CDC website frequently at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

 

References: 

 

Women’s Addiction Treatment: Why It’s Necessary

happy-girl-in-meadows

Dealing with treatment and recovery from substance abuse is a hardship for all involved, and that can be compounded by generic programs that don’t take into account the needs of different clients. The fact is, women have a very different path more often than not when trying to pick up again after addiction. Unlike men, women are more frequently in the role of needing to be a direct care provider for children or elders at the same time that they need to address their own mental, physical, emotional and personal needs. As a result, a women-only rehabilitation program is oftentimes a far better approach than a mixed audience option.

Why Women’s Specific Treatment Is Important

Finding addiction treatment specifically geared for women, however, can be challenging. Many programs are geared for all-gender therapeutic treatment and don’t cater to a women-only environment request. And that can leave a patient uneasy or exposed and vulnerable to male clients in the same residential setting. Granted, many programs provide a very high level of security and treatment care for clients and don’t intend to create an unsafe environment. That said, the mixing of vulnerable clients has sometimes been a negative factor in treatment conditions versus an improvement.

The other factor that a mixed audience treatment program can’t directly provide is that women going through similar scenarios may often build bonds in their commonality and strong friends who reinforce each other far better through treatment than any external person could provide them, including medically-trained staff. Those kinds of personal synergies can help a client stay on track, even well after the addiction treatment has ended because the close friendship connection has not.

Is A Women’s Only Rehabilitation Right For You?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to substance abuse treatment. Regardless of the fact that people are frequently categorized by the type of addiction, demographics and even economic background, people’s situations are fundamentally different from each other when one gets into the details. One situation may very well be a cascading problem of job loss, divorce and family strife contributing to addiction for distraction and trying to get away from the problems. Another situation may be rooted in one’s family history from decades before. Another may be triggered by abusive relationships that act as a catalyst for substance abuse. If a treatment program applied a generic approach to every case coming in the door, a good portion of clients would fail, which is a big problem with many generic treatment providers.

With a women-only rehabilitation center, a patient could very well be a good fit for the gender-specific treatment approach if there is a history of relationship problems with men that act as a catalyst for addictive behavior. In other cases, female patients may be very apprehensive in mixed crowds but in a women-only environment, it becomes easier to open up, which contributes to adjustment and learning versus being defensive. Still, other female clients may want to stay close to their children during treatment and can’t do so in a mixed-gender addiction treatment program. Female clients who find strength in common experience will frequently find benefits in recovering with other women who’ve lived similar lives too.

Women Need Enhanced Rehab Treatment

Many generic programs again only provide the same approach for all patients that come through the door. However, because of the physical toll substance abuse can take, withdrawal effects can be far stronger on women than men. As a result, a second particular aspect female clients or their families need to consider is that the program can address the additional help a female client will likely want or need in the recovery process. These issues often include mental and psychological conflicts of personal worth, sensitivity to groups and societal norms, or fear of the legal system being aggressive towards women in general. Childcare, as mentioned before, is also a big concern for many female patients afraid they might lose their children committing to an addiction treatment program. So, treatment approaches that accommodate mothers are essential to alleviate this fear and reason for not seeking help.

Getting Help That Works

Anchored Tides Recovery is a comprehensive dual-diagnosis enhanced program designed specifically for women, by women. We offer various levels of outpatient services including a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), an outpatient program (OP), and long-term recovery monitoring with aftercare. If you’re a woman finding treatment for yourself, another female friend, or a loved one, it can be challenging. Call us today. We can help you get the support your need.

The Silence Of A Client’s Death

By, Heather Black-Coyne

I have worked in addiction treatment for 10 years now. My journey working in the treatment industry began early in sobriety and like many, I wanted to help others find recovery just as I had.  A topic much talked about but not really talked about is the death of our clients. The news coverage speaks to the number of opioid overdoses and the stark increase of deaths over the years. The opioid epidemic is well underway, and tens of thousands die each year because of opioid use. Today’s reality is that someone is now more likely to die of an opioid overdose than a motor vehicle accident. The unfortunate news is methamphetamine use and alcohol use also take thousands of lives, but their toll is overshadowed by the opioid crisis; that’s a topic for another day.

Despite the staggering statistics, in all of my classes, clinical team meetings, and new employee orientations, the fact that one of my clients might die was never discussed. Sure, we covered self-care, hear of and grieve the third-party news that a former client has passed. Sure, I have learned that certain standards, regulations, risk management and compliance measures need to be in place to safeguard organizational liability in case of sentinel events. I have participated in the silence, and I am sad to say that over time, my cognitive sensitivity to death by overdose has decreased.

 

Today, I’m very aware of the cumulative effect these losses have had on my soul. I am sad. I am confused. I am preoccupied with images of my late client. My thoughts vacillate between my recent client’s death and the loss of past clients. I see past clients sitting in my office talking about their dreams. I hear their longing to be a part of. I imagine them at my doorway, smiling, telling me about their latest achievements. I replay moments where I had this keen sense of them flirting with the afterlife and their weighted connection with death. My process then flips to my recent loss. I feel guilt when I hear others express they thought ‘this one would make it.’ The guilt is rooted in retrospect. I knew a barrier existed between her and true joy. I knew she was just existing, despite the smile she flashed the world. The guilt is rooted in knowing, at times, I operated from a place of defense, “I am here for you AND I am protecting myself.” A sense of protecting myself from the overwhelming feeling of grief, even before you passed away. Though at the time, I truly didn’t know that would be the outcome.

I am grounded and rooted in emotional health. I don’t beat myself up, I don’t ruminate on what I did or did not do. I do not assign myself unnecessary blame. I have and my guess is, others have too. My guess is, that especially for newer counselors, there is some unshakable sense of responsibility. I want to validate that normal human process for anyone who has experienced the death of clients. I want to validate the enormous pull to help save someone’s live and the disappointment of that endeavor not being realized. I want to validate the disparity between seeing someone thrive and then learning of their passing. I want to talk about the fact that if you work in addiction treatment, for any length of time, losing a client is not only a possibility but a probability. When this happens, the loss is staggering. The world silences while your heart sinks. Our thoughts attempt to reconcile the feelings that can’t be explained.

 

We do this work because we are called to help others, and the need is clear. We do this work, because we believe in the gift of life. We keep doing this work despite the heartache for these reasons. The number of individuals I have seen achieve successful recovery far outweighs the number of individuals I have seen die from this disease. Every story holds a special place in my heart. Every story teaches me something I didn’t know I needed to know. If you are like me, if this subject wasn’t talked about with you, know you are not alone. I am with you, we are with you, let’s talk about it.

 

Anchored Tides Supports Rock to Recovery Benefit

Rock to Recovery Event in LA August 24th at 7pm

Rock to Recovery 4 – the fourth annual benefit concert with music featuring John Feldman and Sacred Sons, with the latter consisting of musicians whose credits include Korn, Sevendust, She Wants Revenge and Madonna. System of the Down’s Shavo Odadjian will also be sitting in with Sacred Sons for the night.

Feldmann, Goldfinger’s frontman and producer for such acts as Blink-182 and Andy Black, will be saluted with the Rock to Recovery Service Award, while the night’s other major honor, the Rock to Recovery ICON Award, will go to actress-singer Katey Sagal. Both honors salute those who have used their power of influence to help put a spotlight on addiction and recovery while giving hope to others.

The fundraiser helps grow the reach of Rock to Recovery’s innovational music therapy program.  All proceeds go towards funding the non-profit’s services which help those suffering from addiction, mental health, wounded warriors, and at-risk youth, to find hope, support, and recovery.

Click here to purchase Rock To Recovery 4 tickets.