From the Director
SWFAS DETOX provides medically, supervised withdrawal and motivational counseling for individuals 18 years of age or older, from Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. What was originally a program serving people, withdrawing from alcohol addiction, now serves an increasingly complex population of adults, withdrawing from substances ranging from alcohol to prescription and illicit drugs, and often with co-occurring mental illness. Detox is the front end of the adult system, responding to an ever-changing set of community needs
Several major achievements have occurred within the past year at Detox, allowing more patients to be served and for the services to be more effective. For the first half of 2003-04, SWFAS admitted 21% more adults (123 individuals) to this program, compared to the prior year. This was possible, due to the United Way support, along with increased funding from Lee County and the State of Florida.
Still this is not enough. When individuals can't access Detox services, they often impact other systems.
State funding for adult substance services in this region of Florida is only 75% of the state-wide average, (based on per capita funding for adults in the year round population). That means that SWFAS' Detox program is operating with one bed for every 32,000+ adults at risk. This represents a tremendous deficit, resulting in numerous negative consequences, including up to 30 adults being held monthly in the Lee County jail, inappropriate admissions to mental health centers, and local Emergency Rooms being over-burdened.
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