Since August of 2001 FGC has administered medical detox programming in partnership with local hospitals. Currently, FGC administers medical detox programming at St. Bernard Hospital, located in Englewood, and Ingalls Memorial Hospital located in Harvey. Direct linkage to longer-term treatment is a focus of aftercare programming. FGC’s own continuum of care and relationship with the larger treatment community provides patients with immediate, direct aftercare treatment after successful in-patient medical detoxification from opiates and/or alcohol.
The following are a list of services that Family Guidance Centers, Inc (FGC) provides for hospital based medical detox programs that are not provided by any other contractor;
1. FGC Detox Counselors on-site at the hospital are state approved and trained clinical assessors and trained and licensed/certified substance abuse counselors.
2. FGC provides daily community intervention and outreach services with 2 staff assigned 100% of their time to conducting these services to assist in promoting and marketing of the unit. The staffs are out in the community meeting with community organizations and with potential patients from 7am to 9pm, Monday thru Friday.
3. FGC provides 24/7 Medical Director Services including immediate access to the physicians for patient admission approvals, patient care consultations and patient discharges.
4. FGC staff are present 24/7 on the Unit thus ensuring intakes can take place at any time during the day or night. Staffing patterns include 3 staff on each morning and afternoon shift and 2 staff on each evening shift.
5. FGC staff provide daily individual and group education sessions with all patients and provide specific and detailed referrals to substance treatment programs upon each patient’s discharge. FGC operates 3 outpatient methadone treatment programs in the Chicago area that receive a majority these referrals.
6. FGC staff provide all patient pre-admission screenings and patient pre-certification services with the State and its Utilization Review contractor (HSI) thus ensuring 100% approvals and reimbursement.
7. FGC staff are fully trained and conduct performance review/performance improvement processing that ensures the Hospital’s Medical Detox Unit can meet standards from the appropriate hospital certification bodies.
8. FGC has written policies and procedures that govern the entire operation
of the medical detox unit.