LIFETIME RECOVERY

Mission Moment:
"Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear the hardship of today."
- Thich Nhat Hanh

COVID-19 Update : Opening Up - Hint: We never closed.

Change is good, they say. Whoever “they” are might be challenged quickly these days. But oddly enough COVID-19 created an opportunity for Lifetime Recovery to review how it provides care for the hundreds who come to us annually for treatment of substance use and mental health disorders.
How do we respond? We could not just stop or slow down. In fact, the need has only grown during this time of stress, often made worse by job loss or illness of a family member. Turning to substance use seems like the only relief. Instances of domestic violence or child abuse are occurring at a faster rate. Lifetime has seen a doubling of cases referred by Family Protective Services. Stopping admissions was not an option.
I am proud to say, that Lifetime employees rallied to the mission. While it was sometimes described as building the airplane while flying, we looked at our service delivery model, both in outpatient and residential settings. Some employees transitioned to working remotely while others, by the nature of their job, had to remain on campus. No employees were furloughed or cut back in any way.
As a result of the stay at home orders, people could not travel to group or individual counseling. Converting to remote delivery of outpatient services became the most obvious need. We became Zoom experts immediately. Telehealth has proven to be successful with client participation improving by more than 25%.
Residential care needed to be handled with safety as the highest priority. We challenged our procedures. Changes included: enhanced daily sanitizing and deep cleaning, health checks, expanded meal serving times, and reducing the number of people in groups. Cloth masks were issued to clients and employees. These steps insured that our services could be provided safely.
In short, when it is time to open up, we will have already been there. Our mission will not change. Some of our procedures may never return to “normal.” In fact, many of the changes are better. We may not want to go back.
David A. Phipps, MBA
President and CEO