As the coronavirus pandemic and how to deal with it changes moment to moment, the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin is assessing what it needs to do to provide support and help an already stressed system, Coordinator Debra McLaughlin says.
“We’re holding meetings regularly, trying to figure out how we can get information out to everyone in recovery and to the staffs that are working with those in recovery in a timely manner,” McLaughlin said. “This is just heightening anxiety and stress of those with already a lot on their plates.”
McLaughlin said the task force held a conference call Tuesday with providers and leaders across the county and North Quabbin region.
“There were 50 people on the call,” she said. “We learned that there are some recovery centers that have limited hours or have had to close. We’re all trying to figure out ways to provide online support and keep people connected. We don’t want anyone to be isolated in recovery.”
McLaughlin said that at any in-person meetings, social distancing and other protocols are being followed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re working with social services agencies, which are compiling resources,” she said. “We have some of those on our website.”
The task force and those it works with want to make sure no one is denied access to recovery services and detox, she said, but also want to ensure that staff and patients are protected.
“If someone is symptomatic in recovery, they will be isolated while receiving the care they need,” she said. “We have to look at a lot of long-term issues, as well, like the impact of prescribed medications coming from China.”
McLaughlin said like elsewhere, some in recovery have been moved to phone calls and telehealth visits with their providers. She said everyone involved is also working with the state Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
McLaughlin and the task force are especially impressed with the response from the community in addressing the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s such a collaborative spirit here,” she said. “People are finding creative ways to solutions and working to move forward in so many arenas.”
McLaughlin said the task force sees its role as serving as the connective tissue for the opioid-use community. She said it will stay in contact, whether by social media, through its website, phone calls or other means.
The task force co-chairs are finding ways to help others involved in serving that community by offering small grants to get them through, whether to buy equipment or something else they might need, like gift cards to provide to clients so they can get groceries.
“That’s ever-changing and rapidly unfolding, so we will keep looking at how we can help,” she said.
The task force is also doing its part to “flatten the curve” and prevent the spread of the coronavirus throughout the county and North Quabbin region by implementing some policies of its own, along with following the policies the governor and local cities and towns have implemented.
“We are aware that rapid developments regarding the transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is disrupting the incredible work being done in our region to address the opioid and substance use disorders,” the co-chairs, Franklin County Register of Probate John Merrigan, Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, wrote in a press release. “We are deeply grateful for the tireless efforts to save lives in our communities due to substance misuse.”
The co-chairs said the task force will hold online meetings, unless the meetings are canceled, until May 1, and will follow the guidelines of the CDC and DPH and change that date, if necessary.
Its staff will work remotely until March 31, and that date will be reassessed to determine if that will continue in April. They will consult the task force’s medical director, Dr. Ruth Potee, the CDC and the DPH on that matter.
The co-chairs said, based on the nature and urgency of other non-related task force meetings, a case-by-case assessment will be made to deploy staff to attend, while observing all the recommended social distancing guidelines to protect everyone’s health.
Because opioid misuse continues to be an “urgent public health issue” throughout the region, they said the task force will continue to provide support for those efforts during what has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
For more information, contact Debra McLaughlin, task force coordinator, at: debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.
To access the resource list, visit opioidtaskforce.org.