How Do Sober Living Facilities Follow SOPs During The Pandemic

Covid-19 has changed everything for us, from school to work and now sober living facilities.

18:51 18 November 2020

This new normal requires us to change our conventional ways of doing things in order to ensure that everyone around us remains safe and sound. Sober Living facilities that provide group living facilities can prove to be a major cause of the spread, that’s why it is crucial to implement an infection control policy in all these institutions.

 

These facilities operate on the principles of peer support and round the clock care by doctors. The safety standards have required a lot of these things to be put at a halt. The invaluable support that these facilities provide cannot be completely closed down; many people depend on these places for the betterment of their life. However, the recovery programs must be socially distanced, yet they have to cater to affected people connected to make sure the chances of relapse are minimized. 

 

Some of the steps that Sober Living Facilities like soberlivingct.com are following to control the spread of the virus on their premises are as follows:

 

1. Strict Hygiene Procedures 

 

The immaculate steps taken by the government require a lot of individual effort. Maintaining your hygiene is one of the foremost steps towards keeping yourself safe from this gruesome virus. To ensure that everyone living inside the facility remains safe the management is encouraging its staff and patients to religiously wash hands, avoid touching their faces, not sharing any dishes with any peers and at all times restricting their physical contact with any other resident. The operation of these facilities is based on peer support but now the physical contact will have to be minimised and social distancing policies must be put in place. 

 

2. Sanitization 

 

Other than personal hygiene facilities are focused on sanitizing the area continuously. Surfaces that are frequently touched are disinfected every thirty minutes while all the other spaces in the facility are disinfected daily.

 

The government has taken steps to ensure that Coronavirus SOPs are followed in all of these facilities. If you decide to go to a sober facility during this pandemic make sure that it is licensed, that is the only way to ensure your safety and compliance with the SOP’s.

 

3. Quarantine Wards 

 

If any patient or medical personnel is suffering from symptoms, then he/say is required to be isolated either in their own room or the quarantine wards. These wards are completely separated from the areas that are commonly used by other residents. No contact between these affected people and residents is allowed

 

4. Personal Protective Equipment 

 

Masks, Hazmat suits and face shields have been made compulsory for the medical staff. At all times when they are in contact with the patients, they are to ensure proper safety procedures. If they feel that any patient is showing any symptoms, they are supposed to contact the general physician and take immediate action.

 

5. Strict New Admission and Visitation Policy 

 

The facilities in order to mitigate the spread of virus are supposed to impose a strict no visitation policy. In case of any emergency, if anyone is allowed to visit they are properly screened for all the symptoms and if a fever of more than a 100 degrees, fever, cough or any other symptom is seen they are not allowed to visit. 

 

Moreover, the facilities are avoiding taking any new admissions and if in any severe cases a new patient is admitted they are required to complete a quarantine period of 15 days at least in quarantine. 

 

6. Online Addiction Treatment 

 

Many facilities that could not afford to accommodate their patients amidst the pandemic have now moved to online sessions. For some of the facilities it has been fairly difficult to comply with the SOP’s provided their budget constraints so like many other organisations they have moved to online sessions. This new tele-treatment option is for a variety of people, those in recovery, those thinking to start their recovery journey. These sessions have activities and group meetings with other people to make the recovery journey easier. 

Adhering to policies of the CDC these are some of the steps that the sober living facilities are taking to clinch the spread of virus on their premises. The fight against COVID-19 has to be fought on multiple fronts and on all these fronts the organizations as well as its personnel should work hand in hand.