Doctors remind public of addiction treatment options
Medical professionals at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital reassured the public last week that resources are available for individuals stuck in the grips of addiction — this after 35 people were reported to overdose from illicit drugs in Upper Darby so far this month.
“Opioid addiction is a medical condition similar to every other addiction,” said Dr. Anthony Mazzeo, chair of the emergency medicine departments at Fitz and Mercy Philadelphia Hospital. “There is hope. It’s a difficult situation for family members to go through … but there is hope.”
Options generally available to individuals include counseling, behavioral therapy, medication assistance, and/or a combination of these options and interventions.
Sue Szilagyi, nurse manager for behavioral health at Fitz, outlined the following options available through the county and other local entities: The Delaware County Office of Behavioral Health; Magellen Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania; The Upper Darby Police Department’s Change is Possible program; and CrozerKeystone’s Opioid Treatment Center of Excellence at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
Magellan was noted for accepting Medicaid and services sought through the county’s recovery specialists may be free to county residents.
“We all have a responsibility to each other, it’s not something that can be ignored when more people are being killed from overdoses than weapons, guns and terrorism,” said Szilagyi. “We can’t really bury our heads in the sand. It’s a collective responsibility.”
There are many other prevention and treatment services still available throughout the county that Szilagyi had not mentioned including Holcomb Behavioral Health and Main Line Health’s Mirmont Treatment Center, both in Media, KeyStone Center in Chester, and Northwestern Human Services of Delaware County in Sharon Hill.
The Mercy Health System also has its own inpatient and outpatient treatment services.
Szilagyi doesn’t want people to downplay the importance of having a strong supportive core for individuals who need help in overcoming their addictions.
“As hard and as frustrating as it can be to endure some of the trauma and some of the abuse that is suffered at the hands of the individual with addiction, that family support is really critical to their long-term recovery. Sometimes that family’s support is tough love and that’s sometimes a real hard thing to do especially when it’s your child … the toughlove approach can be a good one, but having them know you’re there is always really essential.”
Treatment is not mandated by law, and as Mazzeo and Szilagyi reminded everyone, there’s only a small window of opportunity after an overdose victim is revived by naloxone (Narcan) and brought to an emergency room that they can be immediately offered help to get clean.
For a year now the county has employed recovery specialists who are available to meet with people, including overdose victims sent to emergency rooms, to provide them with resources and information about treatment and recovery options. One of the newest options these specialists can refer people to is the First Steps Treatment Center in Crozer-Chester Medical Center, a 52-bed intreatment facility that opened in March to help people with their addictions, including opioid and heroin abuse.
Dr. Kevin Caputo, physician director for behavioral health at Crozer, said the center has been very busy and never less than 50 percent full.
“We’ve tried to accommodate as many patients as we can. Once the unit opened we immediately began to see bigger numbers,” he said.
First Steps offers 20 beds for acute treatment and 32 beds for residential treatment, with each treatment program broken into an A part for detox and a B part for rehabilitation. Each patient receives an individualized treatment plan. Treatment can last up to 30 days if a person chooses parts A and B.
“We realize addiction is a big problem and not everyone has to come in at A level,” said Caputo of the approximately week-long detoxification part of the programs.
Caputo estimates that 60 percent of persons come in for residential treatment, which is not defined as a medically-managed case (such as patients with heart disease, cancer or a psychiatric disorder) through acute treatment. Additionally, he says most individuals are coming in on their own free will, but referrals are still accepted through the hospital’s own state-designated Opioid Treatment Center of Excellence, county resources and other agencies.
County leaders realized the blooming heroin/opioid epidemic with the creation of the Heroin Task Force in 2012, and have since been increasing the number of treatment beds in county hospitals. The county was driving force to get First Steps opened and provides subsidies to eligible county residents who seek treatment there.
“They’re proactive and we’ve seen them really try to partner with us. They’re really trying. They see this as an epidemic,” said Caputo, who also harped that even more treatment options are needed locally.
“We need to create treatment and innovate to accommodate and all ages… Regarding treatment access we hope to widen access and make it easier for people. Addiction is a disease and I don’t ever want it to be seen as a weakness.”
Mazzeo, from Mercy Health System, also complimented efforts by lawmakers and policy makers to combat a problem that the American Society of Addiction Medicine reports to have killed 33,000 people in 2015.
“(They’re) really in the right direction, it’s just going to take some time to get traction,” said Mazzeo, who added that the climate in the medical field has changed to prescribing ways. “The two (legislation and physician practices), I hope, can come together to improve the crisis we’re in right now.”
For more information about treatment options visit delcohsa. org/drugalcohol. Treatment options are also listed on the websites for Mercy, Main Line and Crozer-Keystone health systems.