Coronavirus concerns straining addiction field

HARRISBURG – Drug addiction counselors, already scrambling to cope with the opioid abuse epidemic, are under siege for a batch of new concerns caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

Drug treatment is considered an essential service by the state, Jennifer Smith, secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs, said Wednesday. As such, drug rehabilitation facilities remain open, while trying to implement social distancing and other protections to limit the likelihood that people seeking treatment or staff providing treatment are exposed to coronavirus, she said.

Drug treatment facilities have added screening practices, including taking the temperature of people when they are admitted, checking for symptoms that suggest possible coronavirus, and creating isolation areas for people who have symptoms indicative of coronavirus, Smith said.

“The field is doing well at adapting,” she said, but added that providing the treatment can’t happen if the counselors in the system aren’t in a position to provide it.

The added strain on the drug treatment system has been tremendous, said Deb Beck, president of the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers of Pennsylvania.

“I can hardly tell you how bad it is,” she said.

One major factor is that people who are dealing with drug addiction may not be paying much attention to public health warnings about social distancing or using responsible hygiene practices before they seek treatment, Beck said.

Smith said that providers are going to be grappling with staffing issues, especially as workers start to fall sick or go into quarantine.

“We’re probably going to hear more and more concerns about workforce shortages,” she said.

“That’s one of the issues we’re going to have to look at in the very near future.”

Beck’s group and the Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association, the other major lobbying group representing drug treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, sent Gov. Tom Wolf a letter on Tuesday pleading for better access to personal protective equipment for drug treatment workers and emergency grants to help cover the additional staffing costs needed.

Beck said that drug treatment staff needs access to personal protective equipment and drug treatment facilities need more nurses.

There’s been much more focus on getting the protective equipment and nurses in hospitals than in drug treatment facilities, she said.

Smith said that to help deal with the strain, the state has already changed regulations to allow providers to give people in treatment 28-day supplies of methadone, so they don’t have to visit the drug-treatment facility as often. Under the old regulations, treatment providers could only provide a 14-day supply of methadone. The state has also approved the use of telemedicine for outpatient counseling to limit the number of face-to-face interactions between counselors and those seeking treatment, she said.

Those steps are welcome, but they only provide solutions for a fraction of the people who need treatment, Beck said.

Smith said that while the pandemic is creating strain on the drug treatment system, those in the field are used to dealing with trying circumstances and that resilience will help now.

“Our field is no stranger to crisis,” she said.

Those needing treatment should seek it, she said, by calling 1-800-662-HELP.

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