Turning Point Introduces Inpatient Detox Services

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Turning Point Counseling Services Inc. has begun providing inpatient detoxification services for up to seven days, its executive director, Brian Kennedy, announced Tuesday.

The center, 611 Belmont Ave., has “up to 16 beds” to help those addicted to alcohol, narcotics (such as heroin and cocaine), and benzodiazepines (highly addictive anxiety medications), Kennedy said, raising the number of such beds statewide to 200.

The beds are part of the “sub-acute detox services” program Turning Point has instituted. “Sub-acute” refers to the condition of an individual in need of services beyond walk-in counseling but not to the level of hospital inpatient care.

Those in this program are medically monitored during their stays as physicians and nurses help them wean themselves from alcohol and other drugs, Kennedy said.

After their release, patients enter “aftercare” to ensure they don’t relapse. Turning Point “community partners” such as the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic and Meridian Healthcare provide this follow-up.

Entry into the Turning Point program can be either voluntary or referral by a family member. Regardless, Kennedy said, “We still require direct contact with the individual for an evaluation before the individual can receive services.”

The Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board provides limited funding for the beds and Medicaid will pay for health services, depending on the individual’s private resources. Depending on the provider, private health insurance will cover some or all of the cost, a spokeswoman said.

Individuals dependent on alcohol and other drugs often suffer from related behavioral or mental health issues and Turning Point provides treatment for these “co-occurring conditions,” as it calls them.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.