This article highlights two opioid treatment programs and their strategies for serving clients with opioid use disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article addresses the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic for organizations’ efforts to provide high-quality addiction treatment and services to clients who have been diagnosed with opioid use disorders (OUDs). The article’s objective is to help Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) sites to determine the best strategies for handling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their OUD programming and opioid treatment programs (OTPs). In order to highlight strategies for serving clients with OUDs while minimizing risk of contracting the virus, this article describes two OTPs’ experiences during the pandemic. Those OTPs are: The Hope House, a residential treatment program with two locations in Scottsdale, Arizona; and Western Wake Treatment Center, a clinic-based OTP in Apex, North Carolina. The article concludes with a listing of some key takeaways from the highlighted OTPs.