I am concerned about the upcoming closure of the Evergreen Manor detox center. To my knowledge this facility is one of the only ones available to those who would be the most in need of its help.
There are those with private insurance that are able to go to several other of these type of treatment facilities. Evergreen already struggles to make enough beds available for those who truly need and want the help.
If I am reading the article correctly, it is the amount of money that the state will pay for the daily care of inpatients that is at issue. It states that the cost per patient is $252 per day. I don’t know how that compares to the daily cost per person in our local jails. I also do not know exactly where these numbers come from. I do know that some states have privately run detox/recovery facilities, and perhaps that is something we need to look at.
I believe that the Evergreen Manor serves a much needed program in our community, and to close it for any reason would be a disaster. In fact, it needs to be made larger to accommodate the many people who wait weeks for a bed.
Those of us who do not deal with drug issues, must surely still realize that drugs effect all of us. It is a problem that affects our schools, neighborhoods, businesses, and every walk of life. It is not going away, but rather getting worse.
Anyone who truly needs and wants help for drug addiction should have somewhere to go. It is sadly a very large part of our society.
Linda Varon
Marysville
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