It’s time for a Sobering Center in Butte County
Butte County has been through a lot in the past couple of years. Numerous crises and COVID-19 have had a significant negative impact on our community and people’s mental health in general. In addition, we have also seen a significant increase in the use of alcohol as well as other substances (meth, opioids, cannabis, fentanyl, etc.). The devastating effects of untreated substance abuse can also be seen as one travels throughout Butte County. Oftentimes you can see individuals out in public, on the side of the road, or in the parks among other places under the influence and in need of assistance.
While Butte County Behavioral Health (BCBH) has responded by increasing the staffing of outreach teams to work with individuals suffering from mental illness and substance use, there continue to be gaps in the health care system that have been ignored for far too long. When law enforcement, BCBH, and/or emergency responders respond to a crisis call and identify a person who is in distress and under the influence, there are limitations and barriers that limit where these people can go for treatment. The local emergency rooms or jail are typically the only options available to take them, and oftentimes neither are the best place for these individuals to get the care they need. There is however a better and more effective solution: A Sobering Center.
A Sobering Center is a shortterm care facility designed to support and engage individuals who are intoxicated and nonviolent, but who are willing to go to a place where they can safely recover from the debilitating effects of alcohol and/or drugs while being supervised by medical professionals. These types of facilities operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provide services to individuals between four to 24 hours as needed. Sobering Centers also relieve pressure on both the emergency room staff, law enforcement, and the jail staff by allowing individuals to be diverted to a more appropriate place where they can safely “come down” off the substances they are on and then be offered longer term treatment services. Law enforcement officers or Emergency Responders who encounter inebriated individuals in the field can drop them off and leave the site in as few as 5-10 minutes avoiding the need for lengthy waittimes while seeking admittance to an emergency room (ER) or processing at the jail.
While Sobering Centers do not fall under the jurisdiction or responsibility of BCBH we are committed to offering voluntary supportive services to ensure those that may get services at a Sobering Center are offered the most appropriate aftercare treatment options. Sobering Centers are the responsibility of the managed care health plans to set up and to fund. In Butte County, this responsibility falls on California Health and Wellness and Anthem Blue Cross. It is something that both plans can offer under Medi-Cal Community Supports funding through CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating MediCal). Community Supports includes 14 different service options the health plans can provide in Butte County, including a Sobering Center. These services have been an option for the Medi-Cal plans since January 2022.
BCBH has been meeting with and advocating with the two health plans that our community needs a Sobering Center. BCBH has also made recommendations as to possible site locations as well as providers who may be interested in partnering with the plans to make this happen. Unfortunately, there has been little progress in making this happen, despite our efforts with communicating these needs to the health plans. Both health plans have failed to identify either a location or a provider for this critical service to be established for those with
Medi-Cal.
It is time for this to change. I urge members of our community to rally and to advocate for a Sobering Center to be established in Butte County. For too long we have watched members of our community suffer with untreated addiction issues while our local jail and ERs have also been significantly impacted by the fact that we have no appropriate place to divert those most in need.
California Health and Wellness and Anthem Blue Cross remain responsible for the provision of health care services to those with Medical in Butte County until 2024. BCBH has communicated our commitment to partner with them and to provide treatment and referral resources onsite if they are willing to open a Sobering Center It’s now up to the community to make their voice heard and to encourage this to happen.