Morgantown and its surrounding community is bustling with activity and has a diverse population to over 100,000 permanent residents, including over 30,000 students. It is the mission of the Hope Hill Sobering Center to enhance public health and safety by providing a supportive alternative where intoxicated adults can recover from the acute effects of alcohol or drugs and be connected to resources.
A sobering center is a fully staffed short-term care facility designed to allow an individual who is intoxicated and nonviolent to safely recover from the effects of alcohol and drugs. They are also sometimes referred to as stabilization programs, recovery programs, diversion centers, and sobering stations. A Sobering Center is a safe facility for intoxicated individuals to be cared for, in lieu of being placed in jail or an emergency room.
The preference will be to call the facility first 304-826-1171 before transporting a potential guest, this will ensure availability of a bed, suitability of a potential guest by staff discussing exclusionary criteria with referring agent, and communication on specifics of the incident.
Vitals will be taken upon arrival of a potential guest and must fall within the ranges below for a guest to be admitted. The referring agent should expect to remain present until completed.
If a guest’s vitals are outside of these ranges HHSC staff will refer them to the Emergency Department.
Regardless of suitability, a guest always has the right to request receiving medical services from the Emergency Department or appropriate facility if they do not want to accept services at the Sobering Center.
Once vitals are checked and fall within acceptable limits, the referring agent may leave the guest with HHSC staff. Referring parties will be documented by staff as part of the intake.
Vitals will be taken throughout the course of a guests stay every 4 hours.
HHSC staff will be available to receive phone calls to coordinate this process during normal operating hours Thursday-Saturday from 8PM-8AM.
If a potential guest is transported to the facility without calling in advance, staff will assess them through the exclusionary criteria and vitals check. Referring agent should expect to remain present until the potential guest clears these assessments.
If a potential guest is unsuitable for the program and the referring agent is unable to transport the individual to an appropriate service in accordance with the individual’s condition, HHSC staff will contact necessary parties including but not limited to – Police, EMS, etc.
HHSC staff will cut off the intake process at 5AM, to ensure a potential guest has at least a few hours to stabilize and discharges can be planned.
HHSC staff consisting of certified PRSS’s will engage with willing guests to discuss treatment options, safe discharge locations, and other community resources as needed.
Guests will be discharged from the facility by 8AM. Free public transportation is available to all guests through the local community bus line.
Guests that fall within these criteria will not be suitable for this program:
