Managing a sober living home during an epidemic is uncharted territory and our industry is adapting quickly.
People with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) are at higher risk for complications from COVID-19 because they frequently have underlying conditions such as heart, kidney, or liver disease that make them more susceptible to the ill effects of the virus. Even worse, many people with SUD smoke tobacco or other substances. This too elevates the risks associated with COVID-19.
For these reasons, it’s important to take COVID-19 seriously in your sober living home and respond intelligently and rapidly to mitigate the situation. The virus is highly contagious and it is spreading at an unknown rate in the United States. If your sober living home isn’t already affected, it will be soon.
Today, let’s look at the top 5 ways COVID-19 is changing the sober living industry.
Sober Living Homes Admissions are Receiving Higher Scrutiny
It’s smart to screen any potential new residents more carefully during this pandemic. Many sober living homes are already doing this. Including questions about travel history and potential exposure in your screening process makes sense now. Asking new residents about any symptoms of the virus they’ve experienced (cough, fever, etc.) is prudent.
Some sober living homes are actually banning new admissions during this time to reduce the overall risk to the existing community. How you approach this in your sober living home will depend on your risk tolerance and the level of infection in your particular area.
Sober Living Homes are Engaging in Next Level Cleaning
This virus thrives in dirty environments, so keeping a clean home has never been more important, especially in communal living environments like sober living homes.
Many sober living home managers have stepped up their sanitization game with regular disinfection of all “high touch” surfaces, including door knobs, countertops, and light switches. Residents should be encouraged to engage in frequent hand-washing. Some sober living homes are relaxing rules against hand sanitizer (which contains alcohol) in order to provide another level of protection against the virus. Some sober living homes have stopped sharing dishes, instead designating a single set of dishes and tableware for each resident.
You can find a complete list of CDC recommendations here (note: the CDC recommends that businesses who house people overnight—like sober living homes—use the guidelines set forth for colleges and universities, which is where this link will take you.)
Sober Living Homes are Rearranging to Accommodate the Sick
What will your sober living home do if a resident begins exhibiting signs of COVID-19?
Sober living home managers across the country are creating contingency plans for this possibility as you are reading this. Many are designating spare recreation rooms or dens as temporary “sick rooms.” Others are intentionally leaving a bedroom empty as vacancies arise to be used as an isolation room in the future.
Any resident with symptoms needs to be isolated from the general population of the sober living home. They should wear a mask around others at all times and stay in their room as much as possible. Ideally, a separate bathroom should be made available for their use.
Visitation Rules are Changing
As we are all instructed to practice social distancing, it’s important that all homes—sober living homes included—eliminate unnecessary visitors. Sober living home managers may need to make and enforce rules around this change to ensure that all residents are protected.
This also means that many support groups, such as a AA and NA, are cancelled. Many sober living residents are accessing support groups online. Sober living managers are working with residents to help locate and access these new no contact support options during the pandemic.
Sober Living Homes are Adapting to New Medication Rules
This pandemic brings a particular set of complications to any residents participating in Opioid Treatment Programs. While residents who take Buprenorphine might already have access to a week or more of “takehomes,” residents who are prescribed methadone may have to continue to visit their clinic every day despite the risk of infection. SAMHSA has relaxed the rules on access to “takehomes” for methadone patients in light of the pandemic, but individual clinics are still exercising their discretion about when it is appropriate and safe to provide “takehomes” to patients. Sober living home managers are increasing their communications with doctors and clinics to ensure accurate coordination of care and encouraging methadone patients to limit their number of trips to the clinic as much as possible.
The Sober Living App Can Help Organize Your COVID-19 Response Efforts
There are no quick fixes to the COVID-19 pandemic, but staying organized in a time of crisis is essential. Sober living homes using the Sober Living App report that now—more than ever—they appreciate the ability to streamline the admissions process, conduct bed management, and schedule residents’ chores all from the device of their choice. With the Sober Living App, it’s easy to create enhanced sanitization tasks and deliver automatic reminders to residents with the simple push of a button. Our online admissions process is simple to adapt for enhanced COVID-19 screening. An app won’t fix this crisis but it can help ease the burden of this virus on your sober living home. When you’re ready, consider claiming your free trial of the Sober Living App.