Given the far-reaching effects of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, a study was conducted under the supervision of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to assess the impact on New York City's substance abuse treatment programs. A stratified, random sample of 15 treatment programs was selected to represent the system's major modalities. Administrators representing these programs were interviewed face-to- face using a structured interview schedule. The questions mainly probed the problems experienced on 9/11 and afterwards, patient issues and the lessons learned. The findings show major concerns for the mental health of both staff members and patients, the failure of the telephone communication system, the particular sensitivity of drug-free outpatient clinics, the challenges experienced by methadone programs, and the need to update disaster planning. A host of problems came to the fore now requiring another level of thinking.
The attacks on 9/11 may have contributed to relapse among drug users and exacerbated existing mental health problems among patients with a history of concurrent drug use and mental illness.
This paper describes a community-based agency's approach to reducing perinatal risk among populations at high medical, familial and environmental risk. Following a descriptive analysis of 96 families enrolled in a maternal outreach program, a case study illustrates how client-sensitive strategies are applied to successfully engage a traumatized population. The intensity and duration of the interventions, the extensive outreach efforts to the family and the dedication and commitment of the staff are not easily replicated but invaluable in helping providers and researchers understand to what extent the impact of severe deprivations and risk can be mediated and potential damage to the newborn prevented. The paper concludes that community-based agencies in partnership with social and clinical researchers from a tertiary care setting provide the key for developing more effective, integrated perinatal care by virtue of the critical density of hard-to-reach patients who can be followed by providers and clinical researchers.
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