Union urges DPH to halt closure of UMass Memorial’s teen detox center

Photo I WBJ File UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester

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Workers at UMass Memorial Health’s teen detox center are sounding the alarm over the Worcester healthcare system’s decision to close the program, claiming its services are critical to the region and calling upon the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to hold a public hearing in an effort to suspend the closure.

Outcry from members of SEIU Local 509, the labor union representing 31 workers at the Motivating Youth Recovery center, comes after UMass Memorial announced on June 5 it would shutter the in-facility acute detox and stabilization program on July 7.

“I truly believe without this program, a lot of young kids will still be actively using and struggling, just without the help of an inpatient program,” said Breanna Rodriguez, a union member and residential counselor at MYR, who went through the program herself.

When reached for comment on the union's claims, UMMH said it stands by the statements previously shared with WBJ.

The 12-bed facility serves teens 14 to 19 and is the last of its kind in the state, the union claims.

“People are struggling more with mental health disorders, which is the number one lead cause of substance use disorder, and people lean towards drugs and alcohol as an alternative. So without the right treatment and resources, there is no help for them,” Rodriguez said.

SEIU Local 509 is advocating to pause, and ultimately reverse, the program’s pending closure, requesting a public DPH hearing to afford community stakeholders the opportunity to share their concerns.

Without MYR, union members are concerned teens will need to resort to psych wards and emergency rooms or become involved with the state’s Department of Youth Services, which may include juvenile detention placement.

When UMass announced the upcoming MYR closure in early June, the healthcare system said the center has declining utilization and financial strain. When reached for comment about the union’s push to keep the center open, UMass said it stood by its previous decision-making.

But union members claim that the system’s utilization concerns are due to inadequate marketing of the program, as opposed to teens and families seeking alternate forms of care, as UMass Memorial had originally stated.

“There are not many other forms of treatment. I think we are not advertised enough, so people don't know about us enough, and that's why we are not maybe seeing as many clients as we've seen in past years,” Rodriguez said.

Furthermore, she said MYR actually has a waitlist of patients sitting in emergency rooms.

“[They] don't need to be there because we are open, or should be open, and we should be able to accept them. So they're going to be in all these other places that actually worsens your mental health and adds to it, rather than helping and supporting them,” she said.

SEIU Local 509 is awaiting a response from DPH on its request for a public hearing.

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.