Two hospitals in Manchester and Nashua are now the new hubs for the Doorway, a program that connects people with substance use disorders to treatment and recovery services.
Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and Southern New Hampshire Health in Nashua started seeing clients with substance use disorders last week.
Earlier this year, the state terminated its Doorway contracts with Granite Pathways, which used to provide those services, after a review found sub-par management and follow-up with clients.
Tim Soucy is the executive director of community health and mission at Catholic Medical Center. He says despite the pandemic, Doorway services are still available in person.
“The Doorway is a safe place and we want to be there to help them,” he said.
CMC is keeping the original Manchester Doorway location on Rogers Street. As of last Friday, they had nine walk-ins and received 30 phone calls.
But hiring for new positions during the pandemic has been a challenge for both CMC and Southern New Hampshire Health in Nashua during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We still are looking for a certified recovery support worker, an embedded care coordinator and licensed mental health therapists that are also licensed alcohol and drug counselors,“ said Kara Morse, clinical director of behavioral health at Southern New Hampshire.
Morse says that this time is also challenging for the population the Doorway serves.
“With more stress can come the higher risk of relapse,” she said. “We do know that COVID has stressed our population.
Soucy says CMC has approval from the state to sub-contract for some positions that do the clinical evaluations for clients until September, which is when the federal grant funding the Doorway program expires.
