news-record.com

People with a substance-abuse problem but without insurance in Guilford County will soon be able to be admitted to the state’s only county-funded, long-term inpatient treatment center.

In August, the state ordered the Substance Abuse Treatment Center, Guilford County’s 56-bed facility for the indigent, closed until problems were fixed that included poorly kept records of patient medications and staff training, letting patients self-medicate and keeping medications improperly locked. This week, after a successful reinspection, the center learned it could admit patients once an official notice arrives in about 10 days.

The center, run by Missouri-based Bridgeway Behavioral Health near Wendover Avenue in High Point, opened in June to provide long-term inpatient detox and rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addictions.

Patients could also receive treatment for mental-health issues such as bipolar disorder or depression, which require specific treatments and drugs.

Treatment programs at the center, which opened in June, include nontraditional recovery methods such as gardening, yoga, GED classes and work programs, while offering a medical alternative to emergency treatment facilities that indigents often frequent.

State officials fined Bridgeway $1,500 on Aug. 15 and told the facility to stop accepting new patients until state rules were met.

The center created a correction plan and sent it to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services within 10 days of the notice.

Bridgeway may not get another chance if it fails state codes again.

“If something else happens, it’s over with Bridgeway,” said Commissioner John Parks, adding that he hopes the facility will move past errors that plagued its opening.

Staff at Bridgeway and the Guilford Center blamed the problems on several issues.

“The requirements in Missouri aren’t the same as what they were in North Carolina,” said Jill Kwasniewski , Bridgeway’s vice president of human resources.

A nursing director and hiring manager left the facility around the time that state officials found the errors, but those positions are now filled. Documentation on patients’ medications was lax, but that’s now subject to checklists, according to Kwasniewski.

And facility staff now receive more intense background checks and ongoing training.

A Guilford Center administrator blamed the penalty on a lack of adequate staff available at the facility and a rush to open.

“In retrospect, we shouldn’t have put the pressure on them,” said Tana Wirtz, contracts manger for the Guilford Center. “We should’ve taken it slower.”

In 2007, the Board of Commissioners gave Bridgeway the contract, hoping to help get people into a long-term recovery program and relieve pressure on the county jail. The place partially opened in March and fully opened in June.

Commissioner Melvin “Skip” Alston doesn’t buy any explanation for the problems.

“I know that each side is trying to be cordial to each other,” he said. “I’m not happy with that situation, but I guess we have to live with what we’ve got.”

Commissioners Carolyn Coleman and Kay Cashion had similar sentiments.

“I think we’ve got to maintain a closer scrutiny at Bridgeway,” Coleman said of the treatment center. In August, the board heard from Bridgeway’s chief operating officer, who accepted blame.

“We were contracted for day-to-day client care, and we took our eye off the ball,” Mike Morrison told the board.

If that happens again, it appears doubtful that Bridgeway will get another chance.

“I’m going to be wanting updates to be sure that everything is as it should be,” said Cashion, vice chairwoman of the board.
“If it happens again, we’ll be looking for another service provider.”

News researcher Diane Lamb contributed to this report.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com