The proposed Austin/Travis County Sobriety Center, which could open in early 2017, would temporarily house publicly intoxicated people until they have sobered up as long as they are not breaking any other laws or in need of medical attention.
Austin City Council approved recommendations for moving forward with creating the center Oct. 8. An intergovernmental working group of council members and Travis County commissioners recommended the Sobriety Center take over the medical examiner’s office at 1213 Sabine St., which will be vacated in 2016, near University Medical Center Brackenridge. The group also recommended creating a local government corporation to operate the center.
On Oct. 20 the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to approve negotiation of an interlocal agreement with the city of Austin to establish the Sobriety Center. This vote would allow the county to work toward an agreement that will incorporate terms recommended by the working group.
Currently, any individual cited for public intoxication must either be released to a responsible adult who can get him or her home safely, or the intoxicated person is taken to jail or an emergency room.
“Public intoxication is unfortunately an issue that Austin has lots of instances of,” Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said. “It can be very time-
consuming for our officers to deal with public intoxicants and individuals who don’t need medical care and they’re not breaking other laws.”
Tovo said she was not part of conversations in 2000 to open a sobriety center, but after learning about the proposal she agreed such a center could be beneficial. She has since worked with council members and stakeholders, including public safety and medical officials, to research how Austin could implement such a plan.
Jason Dusterhoft, Austin Police Department assistant chief, said the plan gives officers authority to take those under the influence of alcohol to the center—but those under the influence of drugs would still go to jail. He said the center would save officers time but is not likely to save money.
“The Sobriety Center will be a good thing because officers won’t have to go to the jail, and in many cases if someone is intoxicated and they have other issues … you might spend three hours at the jail with the jail nurse,” Dusterhoft said. “That’s taking up valuable time for an officer that could be back out there taking 911 emergency calls.”
APD rents space downtown that officers use as a temporary sobriety center on Friday and Saturday.
Officers will still have discretion to determine whether a person goes to the Sobriety Center or jail, and some overly intoxicated bar patrons may be taken to the Sobriety Center without receiving a public citation, he said.
APD may not see any money saved, but UMCB could save thousands of dollars, said Dr. Christopher Ziebell, director of the hospital’s emergency room department.
Ziebell said when a publicly intoxicated person’s vitals or symptoms show he or she may need medical attention, that person is typically taken to an emergency room. Because sobering up to get home safely could take 14 to 16 hours, a publicly intoxicated person occupies an emergency room bed while others sit in the waiting room, he said.
“In the time we’re seeing them, we could have seen 30 other patients,” Ziebell said. “These folks are a handful. They have to be restrained, they’re loud and all of that brings distractions to other patients.”
Not every publicly intoxicated person who is brought into the ER is a major distraction; however, monitoring that person takes time away from other patients who could be facing life-threatening situations, Ziebell said. A Sobriety Center could create a better health care environment, he said.
Final plans on how the Sobriety Center will be funded have not yet been released by the intergovernmental working group. Tovo and Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gomez, members of the intergovernmental working group, said the city and county could budget money to support the center. Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty suggested those who use the Sobriety Center pay a fine upon entering to help offset staff salaries and other costs.
Austin was named the fifth-drunkest city nationally in 2012. In 2010, Austin’s prevalence of binge-drinking among adults was 2.7% higher than the state average.
