Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Bick, who is the CEO of the Howard Center in Burlington.
Howard Center’s Chittenden Clinic and Safe Recovery programs are marking National Recovery Month with reports of milestones that indicate both how far we’ve come and how far we’ve yet to go in the struggle to provide support and services for individuals seeking assistance with opioid use.
Finding capacity to serve the growing numbers of people seeking medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use has been a serious challenge for Vermont and especially the Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle communities. In 2013, the year Howard Center’s second MAT facility opened at the Chittenden Clinic in South Burlington, as many as 750 Vermonters were placed on a waiting list for treatment. Thanks to a concerted community effort that created additional physician office-based treatment at the Community Health Centers of Burlington, UVM Medical Center, Howard Center’s MAT spoke program and the support of the governor, the Legislature and the Chittenden County Opioid Alliance, there is now no longer a wait list for access to medication assisted treatment and counseling in Chittenden County.
But even while the number of area residents waiting for treatment has decreased, the growing number of overdoses remains troubling. The Department of Health reported 106 accidental and undetermined opioid-related fatalities statewide in 2016, up from 75 in 2015. As of May 2017, 42 opioid-related fatalities have been documented. These disturbing statistics, each which represents a person and their family and friends, could be even worse if not for the overdose prevention efforts of Howard Center’s Safe Recovery program. Late in 2013, Safe Recovery began anonymously distributing free naloxone kits, the same as those carried by first responders, containing medication effective at reversing opioid overdoses, which can be fatal without immediate treatment. To date, Safe Recovery has distributed 15,000 naloxone doses and confirmed an astonishing 1,013 overdose reversals as a result.
In addition to distributing naloxone, Safe Recovery provides free support throughout the recovery process, from active use to sustained recovery, including during periods of relapse. The program helps reduce the incidence of drug-related harm with HIV and hepatitis C testing, and hepatitis A/hepatitis B vaccinations, as well as syringe exchange that helps stop the spread of these diseases. At Safe Recovery, giving someone a naloxone kit is often a bridge to treatment. The program provides drug treatment options counseling, case management, and refers people to treatment and related services. Safe Recovery has also trained and provided naloxone to hundreds of community providers, school personnel and homeless shelter staff, making it more likely that in the case of an emergency someone will have naloxone and know how to use it.
In combination, Howard Center’s Safe Recovery, the Chittenden Clinic, and our office-based physician spoke program as well as our traditional outpatient and intensive outpatient programs provide a continuum of support and direction to people seeking recovery. Although the opioid problem remains, the elimination of the waiting list at Chittenden Clinic and the number of overdose reversals recorded by Safe Recovery represent important and critical milestones and indications of our community’s compassionate and committed response. For those seeking recovery from opiate addiction, they offer a clear message that help is here.
