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Detox center temporarily closes, hospitals prepare for patients

Posted at 6:44 PM, Jan 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-11 21:44:51-05

COLORADO SPRINGS – El Paso County’s detox center is temporarily shutting down.
And since detox patients won’t have anywhere to stay, emergency rooms are preparing to handle these patients.

Crossroads’ Turning Points will leave its temporary location on El Paso County’s jail campus.

Except the new clinic on Maxwell Street isn’t ready.

“We encountered some construction delays and that necessitated for us to modify the blueprints and get them back to regional and El Paso County,” said Leroy Lucero, CEO and President of Crossroads’ Turning Points, Inc.

Now, the detox center isn’t expected to open until early February.
Though their clinic in Pueblo will still offer services as usual.

“We’re not shutting down the services, we’re really just not able to house anybody,” he added.

Those who can’t be housed will likely end up in emergency rooms at different hospitals, including Penrose St. Francis hospital.

“Crossroads reached out to us a few weeks ago and let us know about this delay of service for a couple of weeks,” said Chris Valentine, spokesperson for Penrose St. Francis hospital.
“We understand that, things happen. so we’re happy to step up and do what we can.”

While Crossroads’ helps transport patients from Colorado Springs to Pueblo, the staff at Penrose is doing what it can to prepare.

“We’re taking steps to staff up our er staff knowing these folks will be in our emergency department a little bit longer than normal,” Valentine added.

Though they say the spike in demand is nothing they can’t handle.

“It’s really not a lot different than our normal operations,” Valentine explained.
“People who work in emergency medicine are generally used to working extra shifts.”

Crossroads’ has to be ready to hand over their temporary facility next Tuesday, January 15.
Though Lucero says says he doesn’t anticipate more delays in the future.