HAMBLEN COUNTY — As people continue to die from suspected overdoses, access to treatment can be the difference between life and death.
Over the past year, the Helen Ross McNabb Center nearly doubled the number of beds available for residential treatment, helping to decrease the wait time for people to get help.
"We really believe that when a person reaches out for help, we should be able to provide something immediately," said Hilde Phipps with the Helen Ross McNabb Center. "Little by little, we’re trying to advance our footprint and have centers in more locations so that people can get the care that they need."
The number of residential treatment beds at Helen Ross McNabb has increased from 34 to 66, helping more people get help and stay clean. 130 people received residential treatment at the Morristown facility in the first year it was operational.
The new beds helped bring the list of people waiting for treatment in East Tennessee down from thousands a year ago to just hundreds today. That difference can save lives.
"One overdose death is too many," said Phipps. "We’re not there yet but we are definitely further down the path and we’ve made great strides over the past year."
People are admitted for 30 to 90 days, taking classes to teach them how to stay sober. The longer, residential treatment can be critical for lasting sobriety.
Phipps says the facility has a 94% success rate in helping people get clean and stay clean. The program gives 16 people at a time the chance to get their lives back from the grip of addiction. The demand for help has become seemingly endless.
"By giving people a longer time to work on their issues, they’re more practiced in their new coping skills," Phipps said. "As soon as a bed is empty, as soon as someone graduates, we refill that bed with someone else."