
The $1 million for the detox beds comes a few days after the county announced it was getting $2.4 million on opioid and mental health services. According to the medical examiner, 220 people died of an overdose in 2017. The Office of the Monroe County Medical Examiner compiles official statistics, but that data can take months to be released. In July, 18 people died from a suspected overdose. Through July, 103 people in Monroe County died this year from a suspected opioid overdose, according to unofficial data collected by law enforcement data. Health Guest PostHere is Health Niche Blogs that Accept Guest Post Health Guest Post Service Digigyan Health Blog Submit Health Guest Post Submit Health. UR Medicine and Rochester Regional Health offer in-patient detox to people admitted for other medical needs, according to recent statements from each system. That same month, the agency loosened a regulation governing hospital detox beds. In March, the general counsel for OASAS said the agency was having discussions with Helio about increasing its number of beds. Once a person is stabilized, they can be referred to other services. Detox also can be done on an out-patient basis. Helio Health is on a mission to treat and promote recovery from the effects of substance use, mental health disorders, and other behavioral healthcare. Still, an individual’s length of stay would depend on their need, Putney said. The beds are for short-term stabilization and not for in-patient rehabilitation. … These (beds) had been in the works based on what we as a provider system as well as the county administration has observed for many months is that we don’t have enough beds close to home.” We honor and respect what they are doing with engaging the community, finding services and establishing a path to recovery. “This is not an outgrowth to what Gates to Recovery has been doing. “The community is eager as we are to have more access to beds close to home or at home,” Putney said. Putney said the grant for the beds at Helio Health has been in the works for some time, has been following a process and was not a response to community advocates. Watch Video: Searching for local detox beds In the past month, Gates to Recovery has said it would refer people unable to find a local bed to a facility in Pennsylvania, and Gates officials also toured a city building that was formerly home to a detox center. A message left for the president and chief executive officer of Helio Health, which is based in Syracuse, was not immediately returned. Helio Health already operates 25 beds, but families affected by opioid addiction have clamored in recent months for more beds. An additional $450,000 will fund operational costs. Of the grant, $564,374 is for start-up costs for Helio Health's medically supervised withdrawal inpatient services.

The money from the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services was announced Friday by County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo. The department covers mental health, substance use and developmental disabilities. The work is expected to be done by December, according to David Putney, director of Community Services for Monroe County. Helio Health, formerly Syracuse Behavioral Health, will be renovating space adjacent to its current facility. The money will be used as part of an existing contract with Helio Health to expand short-term inpatient detox at 1350 University Ave. “It’s kind of one of those things where, until you build the capacity and see how it affects the community, it’s hard to tell sometimes,” said Jeremy Klemanski, the organization’s president and CEO.A $1 million state grant will mean 15 more detox beds in Monroe County, hopefully by the end of this year. Still, even leaders at Helio said it’s unclear whether the new total of 40 beds will be enough to meet the local need.

“This is a much, much needed resource - something that we can’t do without.” “I think that’s wonderful,” said Yana Khashper, CEO of ROCovery Fitness, a group that helps people stay in recovery from addiction by staying physically active. These are the only inpatient detox beds in Monroe County. Now, Helio Health is opening 15 new beds, in addition to the 25 it already runs. They open almost a year after a WXXI report found that a shortage of inpatient detox beds locally was complicating the fight against a surge in opioid-overdose deaths.

The new beds are for inpatient drug detox. Officials from state and local government and drug treatment agencies announced the imminent opening of a new wing of addiction treatment beds at Helio Health on Wednesday.
