The Ilanka Community Health Center is now offering medication assisted treatment for opioid addiction.
ICHC behavioral health coordinator Matt Rush spoke about new treatment options and the nation’s ongoing opioid epidemic on Nov. 10 during NVE’s 25th Annual Sobriety Celebration.
“42,249. That’s how many people die in our country right now, every year from overdose to opioids,” Rush said. “That’s more than the amount of people that die in car wrecks every year. This is an epidemic of the biggest proportion.”
Opioids, a class of drug used to reduce pain by blocking pain message centers in the brain, include OxyContin, Vicodin, morphine, fentanyl and heroin.
Misuse of these drugs can be deadly.
ICHC began offering medication assisted treatment with opioid blockers Suboxone and Vivitrol on Nov. 7, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies.
Suboxone partially blocks opioid receptors in the brain, while Vivitrol acts as a full blocker, preventing any high from alcohol or opioids.
“It’s clear that traditional treatment is not working with opioid use disorder,” Rush said, given the 91 percent relapse rate for people seeking traditional treatment with opioid use disorders.
Traditional treatment might include short and long-term treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and treatment based on the 12-step program.
All traditional treatment is built on complete absence of drugs and alcohol, with no medication or medical help, Rush said. “That’s not to say that there’s not effective things with traditional treatment, there certainly are, but with this addiction, it needs help and we need to find some help and we believe we’ve found it.”
Individuals using medication assisted treatment programs are 75 percent less likely to die because of addiction than those not receiving medication, Rush said. Patients are also half as likely to relapse when in treatment with medication than those without medication, he added.
Rural Alaska residents with opioid use disorder have added challenges, he said.
Prior to ICHC’s new program, patients would have to travel to Anchorage, paying roughly $300 in air fare, to receive a Suboxone prescription, with no accountability and support, he said
Add to that the challenges of small-town Alaska, where “everybody knows everybody” potentially creating barriers for the patient seeking treatment. The ICHC program hopes to remove all the barriers, he said.
To schedule a consultation or for more information, call the clinic at 907-424-3622.
