specializing in addiction recovery
CALL TODAY
83 C. Michael Davenport Blvd. Suite C. Frankfort, KY 40601
502.352.2300
INFCTR.COM
Your Addiction
The Infinity Center
HERE
Mocktails: A recovering alcoholic's key to inclusion, redemption
"I didn't believe that I could walk back into a social setting, a bar, a restaurant," -Jesse Hawkins
Brought to you by: wave3.com
Kentucky is the bourbon capital of the world, but one man hopes to make it the mocktail capital. Jesse Hawkins is a recovering alcoholic. "My liver was shutting down at the age of, as I said, 25," Hawkins said. After a friend helped him get to the Morton Center for rehabilitation, he still struggled to be around alcohol. "I didn't believe that I could walk back into a social setting, a bar, a restaurant," he said. Then he heard of the mocktail, a crafted drink but without alcohol. "It was getting back to walking up to your bartender, ordering a drink, feeling inclusive," Hawkins said. The idea isn't new, but non-alcoholic drinks have always been an afterthought for many. Now three years sober, Hawkins hopes to make them a feature. He’s already partnered with The Hub and Fork and Barrel on Frankfort Avenue and Anoosh Bistro on Brownsboro Road. His most important partner so far, though, might be the Kentucky Distiller’s Association. "It's just something that people haven't intentionally thought of before," Ali Edelstein, the director of
"It's just something that people haven't intentionally thought of before" -Ali Edelstein director of social responsibility
social responsibility at the KDA said. The group that typically lobbies for and promotes bourbon is already providing marketing help, recipe kits and stickers so businesses can advertise being a partner. "You think that everyone always has a drink in their hand," Edelstein said. "The reality is the more you ask around, the more you'll find that there are people everywhere that are touched by addiction." "Let's not hide our friends and family away from it," Hawkins said. "Let's make it more inclusive and let’s offer these choices." For each mocktail sold, $1 goes to the S.V. foundation which Hawkins set up. It helps support the Morton Center and people who can't afford recovery options. In March, Hawkins and the KDA are planning to hold a mocktail recipe competition.
THE BEST VIEW COMES AFTER THE HARDEST CLIMB
THE INFINITY CENTER
83 C. Michael Davenport Blvd. Suite C. Frankfort, KY 40601 INFCTR.COM | 720-207-5041
Kentucky to receive $10 million to fight drug epidemic
In December when Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it an important step in helping foster solutions for heartbreaking illnesses like addiction. is week, the federal government took another important step in the ght against the drug epidemic by announcing $485 million in grants to help states and territories combat opioid addiction. “Opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 deaths in 2015, this alarming statistic is unacceptable to me,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in a release. “We cannot continue to lose our nation’s citizens to addiction. rough a sustained focus on people, patients, and partnerships, I am con dent that together we can turn the tide on this public health crisis." e Cures Act authorized $1 billion in funding for state grants to address the opioid epidemic over two years. Kentucky will receive nearly $10.5 million during this round of funding. “Kentucky has been particularly hard hit by the opioid and drug addiction crisis.” -Rep. Andy Barr
Two rounds of funding is provided for in the Cures Act and this round will be provided through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), according to an HHS release. Doug Hogan, spokesperson for the state cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), said the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID) is the lead state agency on the project. “Priority populations we hope to impact include pregnant and parenting women with an opioid abuse disorder; incarcerated individuals with opioid abuse disorder who are re-entering the community; and individuals treated for an overdose in Emergency Room settings,” Hogan said in a statement to e Register. “Additionally, these funds will help us implement strategies for preventing opioid abuse and overdoses; practices for opioid abuse treatment — particularly Medication Assisted Treatment; and increased access to treatment and recovery support services.” Hogan noted the state was noti ed earlier in the year of the funding opportunity. It gathered input from community mental health centers and providers before submitting its grant proposal.
Brought to you by: richmondregister.com
McConnell said the funding will be welcome news to those in Kentucky and across the county working to rth opioid abuse. “ e implementation of the 21st Century Cures bill, bipartisan legislation that I helped shepherd through the Senate, will bolster medical innovation by promoting critical investments in research and treatment development,” said McConnell in a statement. “It also puts patients rst and helps strengthen the kind of research and treatments needed to cure the most devastating diseases.” In addition to providing funding to ght the drug epidemic, the Cures Act will provide nearly $5 billion over the next several years to the National Institutes of Heath for research into genetic, lifestyle and environmental variations of disease. It will also improve and strengthen America’s mental health system, strengthen pediatric and high risk/high reward medical research and support a “Eureka Prize Competition” to foster research that could realize signi cant advancements in health outcomes and disease treatments. “Kentucky has been particularly hard hit by the opioid and drug addiction crisis,” said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky, in a statement to e Register. “While no single program or grant will solve this epidemic, these funds will help Kentucky ght back. I am proud to have voted for the 21st Century Cures Act which made this funding possible, and I remain committed to doing more to prevent drug addiction and to help more Kentuckians recover.”
“Priority populations we hope to impact include pregnant and parenting women with an opioid abuse disorder.”
THE BEST GIFT TO GIVE TO GIVE YOUR LOVED ONES... IS YOUR OWN RECOVERY.
THE INFINITY CENTER
WE CAN HELP YOU. VISIT US TODAY
83 C. MICHAEL DAVENPORT BLVD. SUITE C. FRANKFORT, KY 40601 INFCTR.COM | 720-207-5041
Kentucky jail using new drug treatment for inmates addicted to opioids EVERY JAIL IS FULL OF STORIES
“Me and my brother we turned to stealing and doping,” one Kenton County, Kentucky jail inmate said. “Being a drug addict was something I thought I needed to be,” said another.
Vivitrol, he said, gives them a fighting chance when they reintegrate into society. “Once you are released from Kenton County, you have a 70 percent chance of coming back here,” Merrick said. But for inmates in his program, the recidivism rate drops to ten percent. “This is what keeps people safe while they’re building those foundations of recovery,” he said. Not even a near-fatal overdose kept Jordan West from using again. He eventually ended up in the Kenton County jail for 90 days on a possession charge. He signed up for the program, and the Vivitrol. “Before my perspective was, when I wasn’t on this stuff, it was, ‘drugs, drugs, drugs. Who can I manipulate? Who can I steal from? Who can I lie to? Who can I deceive?’” West said. -Merrick “Giving them that extra level of support is essential to keeping them alive and building stronger communities.”
While the stories the inmates are telling may not sound like it at first, they are all stories of hope.
Jeremy Westerman is serving seven years for dealing drugs to support his own opioid habit.
“You come in here, your hope comes back. You get your wits back,” he said. Jason Merrick is a reformed addict and former inmate who took hard lessons and translated them into a new substance abuse treatment program, an innovative approach to kicking opiates for good. Merrick said it is easy to identify inmates that are in jail because of an opioid addiction. “Eighty-three percent of our intakes are directly or indirectly related to substance use,” he said. Merrick combines the traditional tools of psychotherapy and 12-step support groups with a new one: Inmates are given an injection of the drug Vivitrol just before they’re released and then once a month after they get out. “Essentially it blocks the effects of opiates, including heroin, morphine, oxycodone, for up to 30 days,” Merrick said. “If they take a normal dose of heroin, they will not feel the effects.”
Brought to you by: cbsnews.com
“Essentially it blocks the effects of opiates, including heroin, morphine, oxycodone, for up to 30 days.” -Merrick
“And with this Vivitrol, when it’s blocking the cravings, it’s, ‘What can I do for the next man? How can I help somebody else out?’”
Jail offers addicts a shot at getting clean, and Vivitrol offers a chance of staying clean. West is now back in school.
“It’s all about the steps you take when you get out. If you get out and you keep on doing the same things, you’re going to keep on getting the same results. It’s called insanity,” West said. If the inmates in Kentucky are as successful as West, families and neighborhoods devastated by the epidemic of opiate addiction may finally have a way to combat it.
“Giving them that extra level of support is essential to keeping them alive and building stronger communities.” Merrick said.
Vivitrol is designed to be taken for a year or two after release while the addict gets on his or her feet. Since February, 22 Kenton County inmates have completed this program and none have re-offended. That is why the white house is considering it as a model for prisons nationwide.
GET HELP TODAY! 83 C. Michael Davenport Blvd. Frankfort, KY 40601 (502)352-2300 infctr.com
If you're looking for extra support and guidance through a challenging situation or you're just ready to move in a new direction in your life, we look forward to working with you to achieve your goals. HELP GET THE INFINITY CENTER
FRANKFORT, LLC THE INFINITY CENTER Today is a great day to be amazing! Helping you find the things in yourself you thought you lost a long time ago...
CALL TODAY! 502.352.2300 83 C. Michael Davenport Blvd. Suite C. Frankfort, KY 40601 www.infctr.com
KENTUCKY COPS JOINING NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO STEER ADDICTS INTO TREATMENT The philosophy behind Jeffersontown's Angel Program – that treating people with drug addictions is better than punishing them – is catching on in many places across the nation. The police department in Gloucester, Massachusetts, launched the first program of its kind in 2015. Today, a nonprofit offshoot, the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, claims 280 member law enforcement agencies in dozens of states that either support the group’s mission or have Angel Programs of their own.
“PROGRAMS LIKE J-TOWN’S MIGHT GIVE POLICE ANOTHER TOOL AT COMBATING THE OPIOID PROBLEM.” -James Pendergraff executive director of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police
Thousands of people have been helped through that network, according to the recovery initiative. But assessing the long-, or even short-term success of treatment is difficult, so the full impact remains unknown. Still, there are signs the Gloucester program is working. In its first year, police referred about 350 people for treatment, according to researchers from Boston University and Boston Medical Center. Ninety-five percent entered into treatment. Critics of the initiative question if it is law enforcement’s responsibility to take on such a role. In some jurisdictions, local prosecutors have squabbled with police over their ability to grant addicts immunity. And some simply believe prison is the best place for those who use drugs and break the law. James Pendergraff, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, said programs like J-town’s might give police another tool at combating the opioid problem.
“We got really good at locking people up,” Pendergraff said. “That’s not the answer for folks who are addicted to drugs.” Similar initiatives have sprung up or are in the works in Alexandria and Georgetown, Kentucky, as well as at a few Kentucky State Police posts. While some programs wait for drug users to walk in the door, police at some departments seek out people with addictions or intervene at critical times, such as after overdoses. The Alexandria, Kentucky, program is among those with a social worker to help heroin users stay in recovery. Experts say these sorts of interventions are worth the effort, with the understanding that it may take many treatment attempts to reach recovery.If fewer people use drugs, they say, crime goes down, more families stay together and the entire community wins.
“WE GOT REALLY GOOD AT LOCKING PEOPLE UP.” -PENDERGRAFF
Brought to you by: courier-journal.com
can bring you peace but YOURSELF. “ Ralph Waldo Emerson ”
83 C. Michael Davenport Blvd. Suite C. Frankfort, KY 40601 502-352-2300 |INFCTR.COM THE INFINITY CENTER
Local opioid treatment services expand to meet needs
“
PADUCAH, KY – There’s a growing opioid problem nationwide and in your own backyard. Self Refind, an opioid addiction treatment center in Paducah, has doubled in size to meet the needs of the community. “It’s a worldwide epidemic,” said clinical nurse Janet Ogg, “But I see it more growing here in the state of Kentucky.” At their old facility, nurses said they were helping about 175 people at a time. Now, they are helping more than 300 and they say the calls for help keep coming every day. Behind the doors of Self Refind, people go to get help to free themselves from their addictions. “It’s Percocet, Lortab, heroin, and of course now the fentanyl patch,” said Ogg. As the types of opioids expand, so does the need for help. “I’ve seen a greater increase in the opioid addiction,” said Ogg. “It’s just not with the younger (people). It is also with the middle aged, and the elderly as well, has an addiction problem.”
the epidemic can affect people from all backgrounds . You ’ ve got people with no education and people with the highest
education you can get . - Heather Webb , administrator
”
The expansion has opened up more seats and more opportunities for them to help people suffering from opioid addiction in west Kentucky. “This here is a small group counseling room,” said Heather Webb, facility administrator. “We see anywhere from four appointments, and drug tests, the office and its waitlist are usually full. Webb said they’ve had an increase in patients. Webb said the epidemic can affect people from all backgrounds. “You’ve got people with no education and people with the highest education you can get. You can’t really put a face to it,” Webb said. As the problem increases at home, they’re ready to fight it. They have doctors from other areas of Kentucky go in and see their patients. Doctors often prescribe Suboxone to help treat that addiction. to six patients in this room.” With group therapies, doctors
“
It ’ s a worldwide epidemic , - Janet Ogg , clinical nurse
WILL ST. E'S NEW 'BRIDGE' PROGRAM FOR OVERDOSE PATIENTS BE A MODEL FOR
Getting overdose patients directly from the emergency room and into treatment is a goal with a new "bridge" program at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood. Prior to this, overdosed patients were revived, given life-saving naloxone kits and information about treatment options. But they weren't given a medication that can stop their cravings, and they weren't moved directly into addiction treatment. The pilot program, which is planned to extend to other St. Elizabeth hospitals, is one of two ways the healthcare system in Northern Kentucky is expanding treatment for heroin addiction. The emergency-room bridge clinic is among best practices for opioid addiction, according to addiction specialists. The concept is to provide immediate medication to surviving overdose patients and a transition to medication-assisted HEROIN TREATMENT?
treatment programs outside a hospital. That way, patients who are ready for treatment get it fast, instead of walking out of the emergency department and, likely, relapsing once they're out. St. Elizabeth Physicians also is expanding its medication-assisted treatment with a larger clinic that will have more staff. The Journey Recovery Center is at 351 Centre View Blvd. in Crestview Hills. The center provides outpatient care with buprenorphine, which curbs cravings and stabilizes the brain, and injectable naltrexone, non-narcotic that blocks the effects of heroin and other opioids. Patients also are directed to psycho-social counseling, which research shows works in conjunction with the medication. Finally, some patients are
directed to residential treatment programs. "Different patients require different treatment plans," said Dr. Teresa Koeller, a certified addiction expert and medical director of the recovery clinic. The new center also has space for additional assistance, such as life-skills training. The hospital-based bridge program started this month, after St. Elizabeth received $500,000 in 21st Century Cures Act fund from Kentucky. The state was granted $10 million in federal Cures Act funding. Kentucky's share is being used in regions that have been hardest hit by overdose deaths. The money will be used for addiction prevention, medication-assisted treatment, increased access to recovery services and more, state officials say. With its share, St. Elizabeth Edgewood will provide three to five beds designated for these patients. "If they come in in active overdose and they're contemplating recovery, we're going to keep them there, provide comfort medications for them and arrange for them to get treatment," said Dan Cole, a vice president of medical specialties with the hospital system. "We will also be able to prescribe buprenorphine." The medication, an opioid also known by its brand name, Suboxone, helps stabilize those with an opioid addiction so that they can maintain relationships, benefit from psycho-social treatment and live normal lives. Cole said the hospital will get peer support staff who will arrange the transition to treatment outside the hospital. The program will be fully operational in about two months, Cole said. The plan is to expand the
If they come in in active overdose and they're contemplating recovery, we're going to keep them there, provide comfort medications for themand arrange for them to get treatment.
- Dan Cole vice president of medical specialties
”
service to other St. Elizabeth hospital emergency rooms.
Linda Richter, director of policy research and analysis for the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, said emergency departments should be required to provide initial medication for opioid addiction to those who've overdosed as well as screen patients for addiction and find suitable treatment programs for them. With the unrelenting overdoses, more St. Elizabeth physicians are are getting on board to prescribe buprenorphine, Cole said. Journey Recovery Center currently has Koeller at the top as medical director, full-time, and several part-time people from "moonlighting" doctors to nurse practitioners, Cole said. The "moonlighting" concept has worked for St. Elizabeth, he said, because doctors who either are retired or already are family physicians can help without hindering their regular practice. "Some of our physicians are mission-driven to give back," Cole said. The group includes retired physicians. He said the goal with the recovery clinic is to have additional staff, including three full-time physicians. Within six months to a year, St. Elizabeth announced, the clinic will increase its workforce to about 32 employees.
“
Different patients require different treatment plans -Dr. Teresa Koeller, addiction expert and medical director
83 C. MICHAEL DAVENPORT BLVD. SUITE C. FRANKFORT, KY 40601 INFCTR.COM | 720-207-5041
brings messages of hope to crowd ‘Recovery Rally’
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
Justice Secretary John Tilley told the gathering the criminal justice system is changing the way they do business on the issue. “Understanding how we can help those addicted to stop coming in and out of jails and prisons,” he said. Tilley rattled off some startling statistics on the issue. “Fifty-nine thousand people died last year from overdoses across the country, 1,414 here in Kentucky. Thirteen thousand visits to emergency rooms. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates we spent $251 billion last year. The impact of the drug problem has caused us to spend that kind of money to combat it. “It’s time we stopped worrying about why people become addicted and treat that disease. Sadly, only about one-tenth of the people in this country get that treatment.” Tilley had this message for those in recovery. “When you leave your recovery program, find somebody to help. Even if you’re not certified, it’ll help, one addict at a time.”
F RANKFORT, Ky. (KT) - A large crowd gathered in the State Capitol Rotunda on Thursday afternoon to hear a message of hope from former drug addicts as part of National Recovery Month. Billed as the “Recovery Rally in the Rotunda,” it highlighted those who have battled with addiction, as well messages from state officials. Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said numerous state agencies are banding together to fight the opioid crisis. “Kentucky is on the national forefront of addressing this issue,” she said. “We hear often from Washington and from others, because we are on the forefront with what we’re doing. “Our approach is comprehensive and multi-faceted. We are implementing both preventive harm-reduction strategies to prevent opiate misuse and we’re also building and expanding the availability of treatment and recovery support, so we can respond to this problem.” She said those strategies are at the heart of a new initiative called KORE, the Kentucky Opiate Response Effort, being developed from a federal grant. “Working together is the only way that we will overcome this epidemic, and have stronger families and communities, the theme of this year’s Recovery Month.” They also heard from six people who spoke about their years of addiction, and the different paths they took to recovery. For some it was a counselor at a treatment center who was also a former addict that showed them the way, for others it was their faith that saved them.
“It’s time we stopped
worrying about why people
become addicted and
treat that disease.
- John Tilley
YOUR ADDICTION
HERE.
THE INFINITY CENTER
83 C. MICHAEL DAVENPORT BLVD. SUITE C. FRANKFORT, KY 40601 INFCTR.COM 502-352-2300
THE INFINITY CENTER-FRANKFORT, LLC
Say No to Drugs
83 C. MICHAEL DAVENPORT BLVD SUITE C • FRANKFORT, KY 40601 FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL (502)352-2300 INFCTR.COM
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker