HOSPITAL GETS AID FOR DRUG REHAB

NORTHAMPTON -- The state has awarded Cooley Dickinson Hospital a
$4.8 million, six-year grant to create a program that will help people
who have gone through detoxification programs from returning to drugs
or alcohol.

"We don't have enough beds in residential programs or halfway houses.
We can only keep people in detox a short time. It's been a real hole
in what's available," said Marilyn Richards, director of behavioral
health services at the hospital.

Persons who are detoxified at hospitals are often sent home with a
referral to a rehabilitation program that may not have a bed for three
months.

"They really may have no place to go that is stable. Sometimes they're
on the streets. It often causes them to relapse," Richards said.

The program, called Transitional Support Services, will be housed at
130 Pine St.

It's a 25-bed building that Prevent Inc. recently converted from a
six-family dwelling. Prevent Inc. is the parent company of the Honor
Court, which supports people recovering from addictions.

Richards said Transitional Support Services will help participants
make plans for continuing their treatment and house them until they
enter a program, for a period from two weeks to three months. It's the
first program of its kind in Western Massachusetts.

"Oftentimes, people are discharged from detoxification settings
without a stable place to go. TSS will provide intensive case
management, medical services and transportation to and from
appointments, all critical links to services that will help them stay
sober," said Philip Rugo, manager of Residential Services at Cooley
Dickinson, who will oversee the new program.

"Essentially, we're helping those who in the past have fallen through
the cracks," he said.

The program begins in August. With it open, Cooley Dickinson
Hospital's Behavioral Health Services will have 62 residential beds
and services for individuals in all stages of recovery from alcohol
and drug abuse.

The grant is from the state Department of Public Health. Richards said
the residents will stay for free.