Community Healthlink: Fewer beds will be available when programs reopen next year

Henry Schwan, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
·3 min read
Community Healthlink in Worcester
Community Healthlink in Worcester

WORCESTER ― More details are emerging about the reopening of several programs to combat homelessness and substance use in Worcester.

Community Healthlink, a nonprofit affiliated with UMass Memorial Health, expects to hire roughly 80 employees when it reopens several programs that closed in April after a surprise state inspection. That's the same number of employees who operated the three programs before they closed, according to Stephanie Manzi, Community Healthlink vice president of substance use and disorder services.

However, when the programs return, there will be 34% fewer beds for clients, according to Manzi and UMass Memorial. The total number in the detox, Passages and Thayer Transitional Support Services, will be 86, down from 131 before closure. Passages provides short-term, intensive treatment for up to 30 days for individuals in the early stages of substance abuse recovery.

The news comes as Worcester faces a shortage of more than 200 shelter beds to address the city’s rising number of homeless, according to some advocates. The need for beds also exists as Worcester County faces the biggest percentage rise in opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts.

When the programs closed in April there were a total of 131 beds including 45 in detox, 46 in the Passages program and 40 in Thayer Transitional Support Services.

When they reopen, there will be 86: 24 for detox, 32 for the Passages program and 30 for Thayer Transitional Support Services.

Manzi explained that the lower number is due to safety and space requirements. Before closure, there were cases of overcrowding. Fewer beds means there will be room to meet individually with clients.

Stephanie Manzi, vice president of substance use and disorder services at Community Healthlink, and Gordon Benson, the nonprofit's interim president, address the Board of Health on Monday.
Stephanie Manzi, vice president of substance use and disorder services at Community Healthlink, and Gordon Benson, the nonprofit's interim president, address the Board of Health on Monday.

'Hard to say' when programs return

With Worcester's need for more beds, Manzi is hopeful some of Community Healthlink's beds could return in March.

“It's hard to say a date at this point, just because we're just assessing staffing and we'll be working really hard through December and January to get the staffing where it needs to be,” said Manzi. “In a perfect world, I would love to open in March. I don't want to put a date specifically on it because I just can't yet. We're almost there to be able to formalize a date and which program will open first.”

Besides program closures, Community Healthlink laid off 80 employees after the state inspection. In addition, Tamara Lundi, the nonprofit’s administrative leader, left the organization. No reason was given for her departure. 

To staff up, Manzi said a total of 60 full-time union jobs will be filled. More than 20 former employees indicated they want to come back. What Manzi called a “formal recall” of workers will start once Community Healthlink has a clear idea of how many jobs it needs to fill.

Community Healthlink is working with Service Employees International Union Local 509 to fill the jobs. Combined with the 60 union jobs, another 20 will include per diem employees and management staff.

'Really good place'

“I feel like we're in a really good place,” said Manzi moments after she gave an update Monday night to the Worcester Board of Health on Community Healthlink's efforts to reopen. “I think that the interest in those returning is a sort of positive outlook on people wanting to come back to this level of care and provide the service that we so desperately need in the community.”

One hiring challenge, said Manzi, is finding qualified clinical directors. She said it’s the hardest of all manager positions to recruit.

To reopen the three programs, Community Healthlink needs a license for each program from the state Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. Manzi expects to apply for the licenses in January. That could happen if improvements to Community HealthLink's facilities are finished in time.

Manzi said those upgrades should be done by mid-January at the latest.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Community Healthlink describes plans to reopen detox programs