Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clay County detox facility reports rising use; board approves hiring an RN
Summary
County withdrawal-management staff reported increasing admissions and nearly full occupancy in recent months; commissioners authorized hiring a full-time RN to replace a staff member who moved to variable hours.
Clay County health officials told commissioners April 22 that the county-operated withdrawal-management (detox) facility is seeing rising admissions and high occupancy and asked permission to hire a replacement nurse.
The facility operates 24/7 with a licensed withdrawal-management license and a supervised-living license. Staff reported a monthly rise in admissions — January 145 admissions (439 billable days), February 152 (485 days) and March 214 (538 days) — and said they had reached about 30 residents of a 32-bed capacity on a recent day.
Clinical staff described services including nursing care, licensed alcohol and drug counseling, peer-support outreach and overdose-prevention education. "We're always talking to them about opioid tolerance and overdose risks," a program clinician said, adding the center also provides referrals to treatment and harm-reduction information.
To maintain staffing and clinical continuity, the board approved advertising and hiring a full-time registered nurse to bring the facility back up to its four full-time registered nurse positions (motion by Commissioner Krabanov; second by Commissioner Abiger; voice vote carried).
What to watch: the facility is often close to capacity and serves regional referrals; county administrators said they will continue monitoring utilization and may request further staffing or budget adjustments if demand remains high.
