Question:

My son is a recently honorably discharged veteran. He has a severe drug addiction and is 85% disabled. The VA is closed for residential detox that he desperately needs and they will not give him a referral for treatment outside the VA for detox that they currently will not provide until AFTER the pandemic. I carry Narcan as we are concerned me may OD as he has come very close. We are watching him die slowly and can not get any meaningful treatment. He wants treatment, but cannot kick it through outpatient and has only gotten worse. I am now at a loss at what to do next.

Jim's Reply:

I'm at a loss as to what to tell you. The pandemic has caused so many options for health care to disappear that many are struggling.

You tell me VA won't refer him to civilian options for care but I wonder how many of those are open for new patients? All inpatient facilities, whether civilian or military, are restricting inpatients and guests because inpatient facilities are known hot-spots for the 'rona to rapidly develop.

I'm currently working with others to find burial spaces, nursing home beds that are reasonably open, and cardiac rehab programs for patients who have had surgery. Most of these programs are either closed are very restricted.

If you truly believe that the situation is critical and if you can find an inpatient program that will accept him right now, your best bet is to pay for it yourself and work out the details in the future. While I do understand that private pay isn't always an option for everyone, I don't see anything else coming up within a reasonable amount of time that could help you. The pandemic is going to be with us a good bit longer and I'm of the opinion nothing will get any easier.

Good luck.

P.S. from StatesideLegal

Should you decide to try civilian options, please visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) by clicking here.  SAMHSA is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They provide treatment referral services free of charge. Hopefully, they can refer you to some available inpatient facilities that charge either on a sliding scale or use state sponsored programs to help pay for some (if not all) of your son's treatment. At the very least, they should be able to connect you with some local resources.  

We wish you and your family the best in these trying times.