BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) - Starting Friday morning, people seeking detox services can go to the Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare facility (SBH) in Broome County. The state funded facility will help patients with detox and stabilization.
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Patient stays are less than a week, depending on the care necessary for each individual. This center is somewhat of a jumping off point for people on the path to recovery.
When patients move to more long-term, inpatient rehab facilities in the area, they’re likely to be more successful, according to Jacqueline Ponticiello, a full-time nurse practitioner at the facility.
"If they come here first to detox, we’re going to be getting patients that are healthier, are more stable, and can fully embrace the next level of treatment because they wont be going through withdrawal at that time."
The physical and emotional symptoms of withdrawal, like vomiting and depression, can keep people using just to feel relief, according to Ponticiello.
There was a bit of back and forth between the legislature and Broome County Executive Jason Garnar leading up to the vote to OK SBH to move in. Some legislators blasted the process, saying they were kept in the dark and that some elected officials withheld information.
Republican Legislative Chairman Dan Reynolds voted "no," saying, at the time, they didn’t know how much money it would cost the county.
"There isn’t a lot of info on what we can expect to be the financial impact on the community. They mentioned, to begin with, this will be a local facility. It’s not, based on the numbers. They mentioned it would not cost the taxpayers anything. We found out through SBH’s budget that there was a cost," Reynolds said after the vote in December.
At the center’s opening ceremony on Thursday, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said the state is paying for it all.
"There’s no money that the county is putting into this facility. The funding is coming from the state, going to the county, and then being passed through to SBH to provide the treatment services. So there’s no taxpayer dollars going into the operation," Garnar explained.
So far funding is only secured for the first year.
The center will have 50 beds available when they are fully up and running, but they’re opening with half. Other services include counseling, meals, laundry and exercise facilities.
The center is in the formerly unused Broome Developmental Center. They’re open for admissions 24/7.