Changing Tides Treatment will be offering a virtual recovery option for patients to receive traditional outpatient, IOP and PHP services via ZOOM, a HIPAA compliant secure video conferencing service. This virtual recovery service will be offered “at” our Ventura and Malibu locations. This option will be provided for patients who are at high risk of contracting the virus, people who may live with family members at high risk, people who we determine can safely be served remotely and people who are simply more comfortable avoiding others at this time.
For this virtual recovery program we will offer our patients the option to come in to our offices for weekly check ins with our doctors. All groups in this new “track”, however, will be run remotely. We will run this option for as long as we need to and possibly have this feature available for the future.
For those of us who feel and get better as we connect/reconnect with others, we know we will undoubtedly not find the same quality of human connection remotely. Social distancing (aka isolation) is what many of us in our disease do naturally….. Too much of it for our patients is simply not healthy, and we know it. In this unprecedented time, however, some connection is better than no connection just as some treatment is better than no treatment for people who need the help right now, even if it is remote. Thus, we offer this service starting next week.
Consistent with our “both/and” approach to just about everything that we do for our patients and with our staff, and until we don’t feel is is safe and appropriate to do so, we will continue to offer traditional in person IOP and PHP at our locations. This service will be offered for those who may be at lower risk of contracting the virus and people who may be better served clinically with in person programming. Our new infection protocols for providing safe on site delivery of services will include such actions as monitoring hand washing, taking temperatures daily and keeping our facilities clean. We will continue to monitor the situation and we will maintain open lines of communication.
A clinical determination will be made on a case by case basis for which program we feel is appropriate. We will take all factors in to consideration as we attempt to provide the best possible care that we can.
Our goal is to continue to provide appropriate care that is determined to be medically necessary while minimizing the risk of contracting the virus for both our patients and our staff. To do so we have determined that it is best for now to offer this new option of tele-delivery.
If there was ever a time for flexibility, creative problem solving, taking a “both/and” approach and working together to get through this crisis, now is that time. Together we are all working to make sure our patients receive the best possible care.
Together we will all get through this. Our patients are counting on us to step up for them right now more than ever. Have not one ounce of doubt that all of us at Changing Tides Treatment are up to that challenge. The entire team at this company is more than capable of navigating through this, and our commitment to our patients and their families is this is exactly what we will do.