FayWhat? Why doesn’t Cumberland County have detox, rehab facilities for all?

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Michael Futch Staff writer @FO_Futch

Jan 27, 2020 at 7:23 AM

Readers asks: With the drug crisis in this country at an epidemic stage, how can Cumberland County justify not having a detox facility and rehabilitation facilities readily available for all income levels?

With the drug crisis in this country at an epidemic stage, how can Cumberland County justify not having a detox facility and rehabilitation facilities readily available for all income levels?

That’s a question posed by a reader for this week’s installment of the FayWhat? series.

The reader, who asked that his name not be used, went on to ask: How would an individual desiring help get immediate assistance when the detox centers in Robeson County and Durham that you are referred to don’t answer or return calls when messages are left?

Those with funds and great insurance are not an issue, he wrote. But how about the elderly, disabled, and those on Medicaid and Medicare?

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Alliance Health, which maintains an office at 711 Executive Place in Fayetteville, provides mental health and substance abuse services to Cumberland County and several other counties.

Duane Holder, an assistant county manager over Community Support Services and the county’s former interim health director for about 18 months, said Cumberland County cares deeply about the challenges that many face when experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

The county, he said in an email, "appropriates $4.8 million of local tax dollars annually for the provision of detox/crisis services at the Roxie Avenue Center. Crisis services are available for all citizens of Cumberland County, irrespective of their income level."

In April, the Cape Fear Valley Health System announced that "a minimum disruption in services" should be expected when operations at the Roxie Detox and Crisis Stabilization Center transitioned from Cape Fear Valley to the company contracting with Alliance Health.

That company is RI International.

Before its temporary closure in April, the Roxie center provided outpatient services under the auspices of the Community Mental Health Center at Cape Fear Valley.

In August, Cape Fear Valley spokeswoman Janet Conway said the health system would continue to do screening and triage at the Roxie. "We will make referrals to other providers as needed for behavioral health and detox," she said, "and admit as appropriate to our Behavioral Health Care inpatient unit."

Cumberland County appropriates funds to the Alliance Health Local Management Entity/Managed Care Organization, which is responsible for contracting for the provision of these services, according to Holder.

Holder said Alliance is working with RI International to reopen the Roxie Avenue Crisis Center as quickly as possible.

Neither Doug Fuller, a spokesman for Alliance Health, nor Sean Schrieber, the executive vice president of network and community health for the company, could immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Among its other services, Alliance Health provides mental health, substance abuse counseling, substance abuse education and prevention, and substance abuse outpatient treatment, its website states.

Initial plans called for RI International to begin providing services at the Roxie Avenue Crisis Center on Aug. 1.

More than 5 1/2 months later, those services have not started.

"We have not, and we do not have a date right now. We have not started providing services," said office manager Brittney Bailey of the RI International Durham Recovery Response Center for crisis services.

In April, Schrieber told the Observer that Cape Fear Valley had agreed to continue providing screening and assessment services at the center while Alliance works to get the new provider in place.

On Friday, Bailey said, Cape Fear Valley is not active in the currently shuttered rehabilitation center.

Attempts to reach a spokesperson for Cape Fear Valley Health System on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.

Bailey said she did not know at this time what services RI International would offer once the facility does reopen. "We do look forward to the doors opening soon," she said.

RI International has scheduled a job fair at the Roxie Avenue Crisis Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, she said.

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As for the question the reader posed regarding poor response from outlying detox centers when immediate assistance is needed, Holder said, "We have not been made aware that there is a problem connecting with the temporary, alternate crisis units identified for referral. We will share this information with Alliance as they are tasked with ensuring that the citizens of Cumberland County are receiving appropriate response and care."

Carolina Outreach, at 911 Hay St., also agreed to provide assessments through urgent care services in behavioral health on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m., Schrieber said in the April 30 Observer story.

Cape Fear Valley, he noted, has an outpatient mental health clinic that also sees patients.

The health system will continue to treat patients with detox and behavioral health emergencies in the emergency department and through the system’s Behavioral Health continuum of care, Conway said in April.

Meanwhile, she said at the time, Cape Fear Valley was increasing the number of beds in its Behavioral Health Care inpatient unit from 24 to 30.

When experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder issue or crisis, you can call Alliance Health’s 24-hour access and information line for assistance at 1-800-510-9132.

Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at mfutch@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3529.

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