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Linking Treatment And Support Key For Recovering Addicts

The opioid epidemic has reached every community in Ohio. Because of this, hospitals, courts and jails have become the front lines of the battle against the crisis. Those nurses, doctors, judges and officers can act as first points of contact that connect addicts to treatment. As part of a series on recovery and roadblocks in the opioid crisis, Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports on unique programs advocates believe are connecting addicts to the help they need.  

Sitting behind bars, dressed in a gray inmate uniform is Travis Orin of Columbus. He was arrested for not paying child support, but Orin faces a much bigger problem. He’s been addicted to drugs for seven years.

 

“Once you start using, a lot of times you just give up and you just feel like there’s no hope.”

 

Hope is what Orin is starting to feel, because even though he’s sitting behind bars, the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office has a program that connects Orin and other addicted inmates with treatment. The program uses medication known as Vivitrol, which has been proven to help opioid addicts.

 

“They definitely know there’s a problem out there because for a lot times it’s the same guys in and out in and out but now they’re starting to get the Vivitrol shot they’re trying to send them to programs so they don’t come back cause it’s just a vicious cycle.”

 

Lieutenant Gabe Carpenter leads the program. Not only are inmates connected to treatment, but a deputy drives them to the doctor immediately after they step foot out of jail.

 

“Cause they’re faced with that question once they leave – oh my gosh, that craving comes back immediately as soon as that, the clang of the door, and they know they want it. And so we try to cut that part of it off to give them a little more support out the door.”

 

This way of thinking is not just happening in jails.

 

It’s in hospitals, where medical personnel try to identify addicts through a screening process, then connect them to treatment. The Ohio Hospital Association says its most conservative projections show that Ohio could be managing over 90,000 opioid overdoses annually by 2025 if current trends continue.

 

It’s in courthouses where there are special court dockets for people who are brought in on drug charges. Those people can elect to receive treatment instead.

 

These types of measures go by many names such as “integration,” “coordinated care” or, perhaps most commonly known, “intervention”.

 

"Treatment is extremely important and it's really important to find people who need treatment wherever they are."

 

Joshua Sharfstein is a director of the Johns Hopkins University’s public health school and studies what different states do to curb the opioid epidemic. He says doctors can double the probability of successful treatment if they administer medication assistance such as Vivitrol or Methadone in the emergency room.

 

"Unfortunately many hospitals don't offer that kind of treatment which is kind of crazy cause if you think about well if you had a treatment you could provide for diabetes in the emergency department well you'd expect every hospital in the country to do it and in fact they do."

 

Last year Ohio’s prisons enrolled 15,000 inmates into Medicaid so they could receive treatment once released.

 

Special court dockets around the state helped more than 940 people get treatment and other services.

 

Lori Criss is with the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers. They represent the groups that deliver treatment. She says these programs can grab an addict at a time in their life when they’re open to help.

 

“When a person is motivated and they have the capacity to take advantage of the opportunity of treatment available to them then that’s the time that we need to make sure we’re engaged with.”

 

Back in Pickaway County, Lieutenant Carpenter says more members of law enforcement are seeing the important role they can play, by not just locking people up, but helping them once they get out.

 

“It’s a win-win for me because not only are they getting help, becoming a productive member of society but also I don’t have to see the revolving cycle, we’re trying to break it and right now that’s the best way that we can do it.”

 

That same re-evaluation is happening at hospitals and courtrooms too.

 

For Travis Orin, he’s seen the light of sobriety and felt the pain of relapse. But with his new treatment on the horizon, he feels this might be his way out for good.

 

“There’s hope out there just stay focused, if you go to a meeting as soon as you get out, if you’re in jail or if you’re incarcerated, the first thing I would do is go to a meeting. Get a support group, get connected and stay motivated, it gets better it really does.”

 

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