The inpatient chemical detoxification center at Geneva General Hospital will close its doors at the end of the month.

Over the past 32 years, the center has admitted and treated thousands of drug addicts and alcoholics.

Nurse Manager Judi DeWall said the average four-to-five-day stay in the 10-bed unit includes more than medically managed detoxification services.

"It includes group times, treatment plans, one-to-one sessions, a lot of nursing education as related to the disease of alcoholism or addiction," DeWall explained.

DeWall said patients come from within a 50-mile radius of the hospital. She said a change in insurance coverage is part of the reason the unit is closing. DeWall said she first noticed the change in 2007.

"Some of the payers have stated that even after the patient has received services they will not pay for it. So, that leaves that patient with that entire bill which they had not planned on," DeWall said.

Finger Lakes Health said the detoxification unit operated at a $350,000 loss last year alone. With state and federal cuts looming, the health system said it was no longer
possible to sustain.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield said it has not altered its reimbursement policy for inpatient chemical detoxification. In a statement Excellus BCBS said: "There has been an increase, however, in the number of new outpatient treatments for chemical detoxification that studies have shown to be as effective as inpatient care."

"We don’t believe those studies are fully accurate we believe that the statistics somewhat are being manipulated,” Nelson Acquilano, executive director of the Council on Alcoholism and Other Chemical Dependencies of the Finger Lakes, said.

The advocacy organization has worked closely with the detox center for the last three decades.

Acquilano believes the closure will make it easier for people in need to fall through the cracks.

"Think of it this way, when somebody has a need and you tell them you need to make a doctors appointment that can be in two to three weeks. Then, the doctor says, you need to go into outpatient treatment. That could be in another two to three weeks. Where as when we had the detox program, we’d get them immediately, as soon as they hit bottom, as soon as they realized their moment of truth," Acquilano said.

The closest hospitals that offer similar inpatient treatment are in Syracuse, Scotia and at the Bath V.A.

This Sunday, the unit in Geneva General will admit its last round of patients.

"It's kind of bittersweet. We know that it had to happen because of the way things were going, we realize that, but now that we know that it is happening its kind of sad," DeWall said.

Acquilano believes it will also be a costly decision.

"So a particular health insurance company can say, ‘look, we’ve lowered our costs’, but they don’t understand the criminal justice costs have gone up, the welfare costs have gone up, health care costs in other areas like emergency room use utilization has increased as well," Acquilano said.

Finger Lakes Health