North Adams Council Committee Will Review Treatment Center Resolution
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Public Safety Committee will take up a resolution calling for a local detoxification center in light of how the opioid epidemic has been affecting the city's residents.
The resolution was brought forward Tuesday by council President Benjamin Lamb on behalf of the North County Cares Coalition, a group that has been advocating for better access to health care and the restoration of a full-service hospital.
Kenna Waterman, founder of Josh Bressette Commit To Save A Life, wrote in a letter to the council supporting the resolution that her organization addressing opioid addiction is frequently asked to help find recovery beds.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time, these available beds are not in our area. Often we are told to call back the next day in there has been a discharge," Waterman wrote. "I tell people to call every hour until there is one."
"The need for detox and clinical destabilization beds far exceeds the demand. If McGee opens more beds, they will fill them and still others will still be waiting.
"To open a facility in Northern Berkshire would not only be a positive step for North County but the people in need in Southern Vermont as well."
The resolution calls for 10 to 11 beds for inpatient behavioral health and substance abuse. It claims a 376 percent increase in opioid abuse over the past 10 years, using percentages provided in a Massachusetts Nurses Association report given to the council two weeks ago.
Berkshire Medical Center's McGee Recovery Center in Pittsfield has 21 beds, with another 30 longer-term recovery beds being added.
Waterman was not able to attend the meeting because she had to drive a client and friend to a detox in Bradford, Vt. The cost of a taxi, she wrote, would have been $400.
City Councilor Robert R. Moulton Jr., chairman of the Public Safety Committee, asked the coalition what it hoped to accomplish by requesting the referral to his committee.
Richard Dassatti, speaking for the group, said the referral to a less formal committee was suggested as a way to have more open conversation about the need for treatment beds.
"We were hoping we could have a timely meeting and hear from people interested in this topic," he said, and "try to meet the needs in this community."
Dassatti said the resolution, which addresses the county's primary health-care provider, Berkshire Health Systems, and local and state officials, could be redrafted to better express the community's thoughts on the issue.
"We want to hear from more ... we want to hear from the community to broaden it," he said. "We will work with anyone."
Councilor Lisa Blackmer noted some of the organizations and individuals listed in the resolution were already involved in the opioid task force.
"I'm not sure what referring to Public Safety does that isn't already being done," she said.
Dassatti said his group was pursuing a different effort on the same topic, specifically the opening a treatment center in North Adams.
The council also referred the fiscal 2017 draft budget to the Finance Committee. Mayor Richard Alcombright submitted the $39,453,253 budget, up 2.296 percent over this year. The Finance Committee will meeti on May 16 and May 23, with additional meetings as necessary.
In other business:
• The council approved the transfer of $8,000 to the Department of Public Services from the Tinker Fund to purchase a tripod for lifting heavy gravestones to straighten them and to repair the stones.
The fund was set up by the Tinker family to aid in the preservation of its mausoleum and Hill Side Cemetery in general. Cemetery Commission Chairman Roger Eurbin has been leading the group that has been restoring Hill Side in the last few years.
Eurbin said the $4,000 tripod will be made locally to ensure it meets the need. Last week, he said the group of seven reset the first stones on "Cardiac Hill."
• The council approved renewal of a secondhand license for Timothy Randall for Sanford & Son at 160 Houghton St.
• The council confirmed the reappointments of Julia Dixon and Cynthia Quinones to the Public Arts Commission, both terms to expire in 2021.
Tags: city budget, fiscal 2017, Opioid abuse, resolution,
