Sheriff floats plan for new detox center
El Paso County jailers know a thing or two about dealing with drunks. They see them almost nightly, after all, from barflies who get behind the wheel to belligerent alcoholics who end up in brawls. At the jail, there is security, a medical staff and food services.
So who better to help run a detoxification center?
That's the thinking behind a novel idea unveiled Monday by Sheriff Terry Maketa, who has offered to spearhead an effort to resurrect a detox center.
The city's only one closed Feb. 1. Detox centers harbor the dangerously or chronically drunk, who would otherwise tax hospital emergency rooms, law enforcement and other services ill-prepared to deal with them.
Under the new plan, Maketa would build a temporary structure near the Criminal Justice Center that would house more than 70 inmates on one side and a 40-bed detox center on the other. The detox center would use the jail's staff, but money to build the structure and operate detox would come from non-county sources such as state grants and contributions from local hospitals.
Maketa shared his plan with dozens of stakeholders Monday, including officials from Colorado Springs, Fountain and El Paso County, as well as hospital executives and mental health and substance abuse groups.
While many details have yet to be worked out, his idea was met with preliminary approval from the crowd.
"What we're trying to do is provide a service where there is a huge, sucking void right now," he said.
For years, Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group, which oversees Pikes Peak Mental Health, operated the region's only detox center, a 20-bed unit at The Lighthouse Assessment Center.
But the organization announced in December it could no longer afford to do so. A nonprofit group, Harbor House Collaborative, initially pledged to pick up the effort but later backed out, saying a detox operation would overtax its other substance-abuse programs.
On Monday, Maketa said the Sheriff's Office is already planning to erect two temporary buildings near the CJC that would provide 288 jail beds and relieve crowding at the main jail.
The buildings, more sophisticated than tents or trailers but not permanent brick-and-mortar structures, would cost about $1.2 to $1.4 million apiece and be funded through revenue the Sheriff's Office earns from Immigration and Customs Enforcement for jailing illegal immigrants.
Maketa said he could designate half of the first building to detox without adversely affecting jail operations. His staff would have the expertise to run the detox center, he said, avoiding the need to build a program from the ground up.
Local hospitals, the state of Colorado and the United Way had planned to contribute nearly $1.6 million to a detox program in 2009 before news of the Lighthouse closure.
Although that amount covered only about half the cost to run The Lighthouse, a medically licensed program, it could entirely fund 40 beds with a basic level of service if it went toward Maketa's program.
Dee Drake, project director of The Collaborative, a group that helps uninsured adults find mental-health care and substance-abuse treatment, said the idea is interesting, but she noted there are important details to hash out.
For example, many chronically homeless have criminal backgrounds or outstanding arrest warrants. If detox is run by deputies, they may steer clear.
And, she said, half of detox users have health insurance, and the Sheriff's Office might not be able to bill for those costs.
To make the plan work, Maketa said, a widespread community effort will be needed.
Although his department might provide the service, it would rely on other agencies to transport clients, offer counseling services and provide long-term programs for sobriety.
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Brian Newsome Health Reporter The Gazette 30 S. Prospect St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (719)636-0198 Visit my Web page, http://gazette.com/health Visit my beat blog, http://pikespeakhealth.freedomblogging.com/ Follow me on Twitter, http://twitter.com/pikespeakhealth
