Chamber hosts community wellness update

A Community Wellness Update was hosted by the Shelby County Chamber’s health services group on Tuesday. 

Featured speakers on the Zoom conference were Chad Scroggins, County Manager of Shelby County; Captain Clay Hammac, Executive Director of Compact 2020 and Shelby County Drug Enforcement Commander; Richard Fallin, Executive Director of Central Alabama Wellness (formerly Chilton-Shelby Mental Health) and Daniel Listi, CEO of Shelby Baptist Medical Center. 

Chad Scroggins kicked off the meeting with an update of what’s going on in Shelby County. Scroggins, who took over the position as county manager on March 31, described the past few months as a “very unique and trying time.”

“Within our own operations in Shelby County, we never actually completely shut down anything,” he said. ”If you needed to see a probate judge, it was done electronically. License offices have been open, except Inverness, which will open next week. Parks have been open and maintained more frequently so people have the opportunity to get out and enjoy them.”

Changes have been made to protect both employees and residents. The license offices now have glass separation partitions, a triage desk has been set up to make sure customers have the necessary paperwork they need, numbers are given and customers can wait in their cars until they are called.  

ALEA has not set a date when drivers license testing will resume, but the star ID deadline has been pushed back to October 1, 2021.

The Shelby County Courthouse will reopen next Wednesday, May 20. Scroggins said he is proud of the leadership of Judge Bostick and Judge Boyd of their management during this time. Court dockets will resume, but jury trials have been pushed to July 1.

Clay Hammac, Executive Director of Compact 2020 and Shelby County Drug Enforcement Commander said their missions have not changed. Their team has continued to think outside of the box. 

One of the key points of the mission of Compact 2020 is to identify students and young adults who are at risk of being involved in substance abuse or other behaviors or already actively involved. They meet with their parents and share what they know, then walk alongside them to be proactive in the students' life. 

“Being away from school, we find students longing for those social relationships they had in that school environment,” Hammac said. “We have juniors and seniors who are devastated. We have come up with creative ways to stay engaged with our students, and letting them know it's okay to be frustrated and angry at this process. We have developed social media platforms and videos in which we are helping out students cope with some feelings they may be experiencing...and to help parents through this process by engaging with their students.”

A teen talk line has been developed for those needing to talk with a Compact 2020 team member. Calls can be made to 205-605-1830 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Students can call investigators and vent or share frustrations, and this gives them a healthy outlet along with resources on how to cope. 

“We want to make a generational impact on Shelby County by putting a solid punch in the curve of addiction and substance abuse,” Hammac said. 

Richard Fallin, Executive Director of Central Alabama Wellness (formerly known as Chilton-Shelby Mental Health) said they have not stopped their services and it has been business as usual. 

“It was really helpful for us early on in the process that a lot of insurance providers allowed us to do teletherapy and telemedicine,” Fallin said. “We have seen about 12% increase in our services during COVID-19. It seems the reason is because it has been a stressful time for those individuals.”

Fallin said it has been difficult for them to source specific items for their residents that live in the community, and have relied heavily on churches and other community agencies to get food and supplies to their residents by delivering those thing to their homes.

Central Alabama Wellness will resume full in-office services beginning May 18. Adjustments have been made, including moving waiting room chairs six feet apart and a thorough cleaning will be done after each patient is seen. They ask all those who come into the office to wear a mask. 

“This has been a really stressful time for all individuals,” he said. “Adjustment disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are real consequences to COVID-19, and we haven't seen the full brunt of it yet. I expect it will continue after life returns back to normal as we sort through our feelings and emotions."

Central Alabama Wellness had a crisis line set up before COVID-19 that is available 24 hours a day. It can be reached at 205-651-0077.

Shelby Baptist Medical Center CEO Daniel Listi said they have been in command mode since March 10 and things have been pretty intense. 

Since the safer at home order on May 1, the hospital has been able to begin doing some elective surgeries that had to be put off. He said their emergency room has been operating at about 50% of the regular daily volume. The operating rooms came to almost a standstill, but over time, as patient’s conditions worsened, they had to come in to have surgery done. 

Listi said it has been hard not being able to have family members be there with the patients, but they have made adjustments for those in palliative care or in hospice. He added that visitation rules will continue to evolve. 

Shelby Baptist has received tremendous support from the community, including donations of masks for local residents, the University of Montevallo also donated masks and visors. Many donations have arrived from Harbor Freight and they’ve been flooded with plenty of food.

As businesses, restaurants and more continue to reopen, Listi said he doesn’t know how things will be six weeks from now, but understands businesses need to be open and the community thriving. 

“Until we get a shot (for COVID-19), this situation is not going to change much. Social distancing is not going to change. The amount of prevention you can give is through masks and hygiene.”