CRC Announces New Treatment Approach for Opiate Abuse
By Melissa Preshaw, Community Relations Director

Philadelphia, PA was the site selected to announce “true breakthroughs” in addiction treatment. A press conference spearheaded by CRC brought together a host of leaders to respond to the recent FDA approval of Vivitrol, a medication that has been scientifically proven to reduce cravings for opiate abuse. The event underscored the 21 million people in the U.S. who need treatment but don’t receive it. Vivitrol can now be used to treat not only heroin addicts but those addicted to prescription drugs such as oxycontin. This could be the path to recovery for many addicts.

General Barry McCaffrey started the conference emphasizing that “Vivitrol combined with counseling and the magic of N.A and A.A. is a terrific addition to the arsenal of tools currently used.” Excitement and support was echoed by CRC CEO Andy Eckert, Philadelphia’s Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison, Pennsylvania’s Drug and Alcohol Bureau Director Robin Rothermel, and Robert Lindsey, CEO of the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependence.

Jerry Rhodes, Recovery Division President, outlined CRC’s new program that will be available at numerous CRC facilities. The program for people with opioid addiction involves a 15-day inpatient detoxification and counseling stay, culminating with the initial injection of Vivitrol, and followed by counseling. The detoxification will take from three to five days, after which patients will be admitted into inpatient treatment — a quarantine — for about a week, during which time they will be prepared for their first injection of Vivitrol. That preparation, which will include education and counseling, is key, as is the counseling in the ensuing months.

As quoted in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Weekly Jerry stated, “During the week after detoxification, the CRC inpatient program will focus on the needs of this population. We’ll look at their needs coming off detox, dealing with craving and providing education about opioid abuse.” On the 15th day, the patient gets his or her first Vivitrol injection. “Then we discharge that patient into a network of CRC and non-CRC programs.”

The Vivitrol injection wears off after 28 days, so it must be given every month. Whether the patient gets subsequent injections – which are not administered by CRC, but by the patient’s physician or a physician arranged for by CRC discharge staff — “will be highly dependent on the individual’s motivation,” said Rhodes. “There’s nothing we can do to force them. That’s why counseling is so important. Frequency of counseling will be ‘highly individual.’ We will encourage it to be as intensive as possible.”

This is only the start of much more to come on the rollout of this new program within the Recovery Division.