PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Care New England representatives, along with officials from Butler Hospital, The Providence Center, and Continuum Behavioral Health, announced a grant-funded $242,224 Center of Excellence for opioid addiction offering longer treatment and access to substance-use disorder services at the hospital Nov. 9.
The new treatment service is called the Recovery Stabilization Program, led by Butler Hospital’s Dr. Kevin Baill, unit chief of intensive inpatient adult treatment services; Heather Lykas, Continuum’s director of operations; Dr. Catherine DeGood, medical director; and Gretchen Anderson, clinical director. Baill is also a member of Raimondo’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force.
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The outpatient Recovery Stabilization Program provides easy access to care and is offered at Butler and Continuum locations in Providence and North Kingstown, respectively. The specialized service is designed to provide six months or more of treatment. The recovery team may include an addiction specialty physician, registered nurse, licensed therapist, and case manager. The team manages the outpatient treatment and determines when someone requires more-intensive services, such as inpatient, partial hospital, or ambulatory detoxification, because of early stages of recovery, relapse, or increased risk of relapse.
With the Center of Excellence designation, CNE received the grant money in June. Through this funding, the launch of the program was accelerated and clinicians began seeing patients in October at the Providence and North Kingstown locations. The funding is administered by the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals and will primarily be used for salaries to staff the new program.
“Our team recognizes that recovery is not a straight path. Relapse is not uncommon, and we don’t judge people when they stumble in recovery,” said Baill. “Instead, we get them the right care they need at the right time, knowing that this is how treatment works and that recovery is possible.”
Once patients are stabilized, long-term treatment is transferred to a primary care provider and a therapist to manage medications and continue counselling, respectively. The recovery stabilization team remains available for consults should there be a need to intervene or consider adjusting medications.
People are admitted to the program through a referral from their physician or therapist, an emergency department doctor, or when self-presenting to Butler Hospital’s Patient Assessment Services in its Emergency Department. To start the process, individuals contact CNE’s Call Center for Behavioral Health Services at 1-844-401-0111, which is available 24/7.
“The program will even cover the cab fare to transport someone from the Kent Hospital Emergency Department to Butler Hospital,” said Baill. Once at Butler, the patient will be further assessed to determine if inpatient or outpatient medically assisted detoxification is necessary before entering the program for a combination of medication management, skill-based therapy and group support to treat the opioid addiction. This allows people to begin treatment seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
“We are very appreciative to the state and the governor for recognizing the importance of creating these types of specialized medication-assisted treatment services,” Baill said. “The Center of Excellence designation also means those insured by the state can get the treatment they need without any barriers. Our goal is to offer comprehensive, wrap-around care that fully supports individuals in their recovery from opioid addiction, regardless of what behaviors or medical history has caused their addiction. This is a judgement-free environment.”
“The opioid overdose epidemic is the most urgent public health crisis of our time,” said Raimondo. “We created the Center of Excellence model so that Rhode Islanders can get the help they need to recover from the disease of addiction. I am thankful to Care New England for their continued partnership and support of our mission of recovery. As we continue our work to save lives, I ask our leaders in Washington to put politics aside and devote resources, not rhetoric, to combating this epidemic.”
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
