Release from Community Care of West Virginia:
BUCKHANNON, W.VA. – To help ensure the opioid crisis is not forgotten amid the COVID-19 response, Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV) led regional stakeholders in a virtual meeting with national-leading expert Robert Neri, Chief Clinical Officer of WestCare to discuss substance use disorder in the current environment.
“There is a higher risk at this time for individuals to relapse or to fall into old habits,” said Rick Simon, chief executive office of Community Care. “While COVID-19 is the immediate health crisis at hand, we cannot afford to trade one for the other and lose sight of these individuals.”
WestCare has programs in 18 states and three United States territories that are focused on helping patients who face substance use and mental health disorders. Neri has been part of the leadership of WestCare since 2001 and is responsible for the full scope of three of the substance abuse treatment facilities in Florida.
During the event, Neri provided the group with insights on how WestCare is serving its patients that face substance use disorder and the measures that the organization is taking in order to protect both patients and staff. These steps have included implementing a dedicated medical professionals at facilities to quarantine patients and establishing video methods of communication with families to replace normal visitations.
“The medical world is responding in extremely innovative ways to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have a whole at risk population – those with substance use disorder – that we cannot allow to slip through the cracks,” explained Simon.
In addition, WestCare is working to establish counseling services and resources for individuals through video and telephone calls to lend support and care needed but respecting social distancing limitations. Neri dubbed the method of care “tele-behavioral health.”
Community Care has implemented similar techniques for both their behavioral health care clients and their medical clinics. In addition to establishing separate sites for those that may be showing COVID symptoms, Community Care has launched telemedicine and even parking lot visits for those that do not have access to the tools for a telehealth call. Mail prescription services are also available to safely deliver important medicines directly to the patient.
“We are trying to make sure that there are proper tools in place to help every individual and to also ensure that these tools have longevity to outlast COVID-19 as viable service methods,” said Simon.
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CoCommunity Care of West Virginia (CCWV) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in central West Virginia with fifteen (15) community health center locations, fifty-three (53) school-based health sites, five (5) CCWV-owned and thirteen (13) contract pharmacies, and one (1) dental office employ a dynamic team of health professionals including MD, DO, FNP, PA-C, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, LICSW, LCSW, LGSW, RPH, and DDS’s. For more information about Community Care of West Virginia’s services and facilities, visit www.ccwv.org.
