Community Healthlink’s shuttered programs will need 8-12 months to reopen

PHOTO | Isabel Tehan SEIU Local 509 members at the UMass Memorial Health administrative offices, in protest of the closure of Community Healthlink programs

Write a Comment

By Isabel Tehan

The Community Healthlink substance abuse programs that have been closed since April will need eight to 12 more months to reopen, according to a letter from the Worcester Commissioner of Health and Human Services Dr. Matilde Castiel to City Manager Eric Batista.

In June, the Worcester City Council demanded CHL make public a plan and timelines for the reopening of its shuttered programs, which are its detox program, Passages program, and Thayer Transitional Support Services program, which were all based at 12 Queen St. in Worcester. The three programs were voluntarily suspended in an agreement with the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services after a state investigation.

Castiel met with CHL and parent-operator UMass Memorial Health in early August to gather information about the reopening and deliver the plan to the city council.

The required 8-12 months to reopen was determined based on new hiring and staffing requirements, capital improvements at 12 Queen St., and the ordering of new beds for patients. The bed will take 14 weeks to be delivered.

Some 60-70 new staff members need to be hired before the programs can reopen, according to the letter.

In April, 80 CHL workers employed at the now-suspended programs were laid off. All previous staff were offered new positions associated with the reopening. While 37 full-time employees accepted the new roles, 25 full-time employees elected not to rejoin, as well as 12 per-diem employees.

The reopening will be in stages, according to CHL’s plan given to the Castiel. One program will open at a time, with the detox program expected to be first based on acute need for services. A planned 24 beds will be offered for detox program patients.

"Community Healthlink is working diligently with the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS) to resume admissions at the Detox program, Passages program, and Thayer Transitional Support Services program at 12 Queen Street as quickly as possible," said a UMass Memorial Health spokesperson in a statement.