We Are Here to Help During These Rough Times Where groups and individuals normally meet in-person, CeDAR – Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation is using Telehealth technologies to connect addiction treatment patients, counselors and clinicians. The transition had been much smoother than we imagined. Most of our patient population is quite comfortable with using a variety of telehealth and telemedicine platforms to connect. Senior Director at CeDAR, Susan Dearing-Bond, says, “I’m extremely proud of our patients. They’ve committed to their own recovery and embraced the transition to Telehealth. It’s impressive.” CeDAR Inpatient Treatment provides housing in isolated buildings on our secure campus, allowing us to monitor patient health in a clinical environment. Unfortunately, no new patient can be admitted if they’re showing COVID-19 symptoms. This protects both the patients and healthcare workers who are on-site 24-hours a day. We’re able to provide our normal range of Inpatient Residential services using Telehealth, including:
- Therapy Groups – traditional group therapy in a Telehealth environment
- Individual Therapy – individual Telehealth meetings with counselors
- Psychiatry – individual Telehealth appointments with psychologists and psychiatrists
- Psychoeducation – on-demand video educational lectures and presentations
- Fitness Classes – video yoga, movement, and exercise classes
- Peer Support Groups – online 12-step and other fellowship meetings
CeDAR Outpatient Services are also available using Telehealth platforms. This, too, has been well received by new and existing patients. Enrollment for outpatient addiction treatment continues to be popular for anyone needing structured recovery support. Telehealth services are in use by both CeDAR at Anschutz Medical Campus and CeDAR at Boulder Health Center. Darah Meyer, Manager of Clinical Operations at CeDAR and UCHealth Outpatient Psychiatry, was quick to get Telehealth services scaled up for Outpatient Services. “As soon as we knew there would be restrictions for group meetings, we transitioned to Telehealth. We’ve continued to meet the needs of our patients, and that’s what is important.” Services that have transitioned to Telehealth include:
- Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) – full-time therapy groups, individual therapy, psychiatry, psychoeducation
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – multi-day therapy groups, individual therapy, psychiatry, psychoeducation
- Continuing Care Groups – therapy groups, psychoeducation
- Individual Therapy – individual meetings with counselors
- Addiction Medicine – individual appointments with addiction medicine clinicians
- Addiction Psychiatry – individual appointments with psychiatrists
Harnessing the power of existing technologies is only improving our ability to serve patients wherever they’re at in recovery. We can actually connect with them in their own homes. In the not-too-distant past, Telehealth Addiction Treatment was an optional service. It’s now at the forefront of addiction treatment during the COVID-19 crisis. CeDAR – Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation A Division of UCHealth 1693 N. Quentin St. Aurora, CO 80045 cedarcolorado.org