By WHITNEE ICE
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph City Council heard from local treatment and recovery service workers about the Opioid Crisis the city is currently facing.
The City Council heard from leaders with the Family Guidance Center, New Season St. Joseph Metro Treatment Center, Northwest Health Services, and St. Kilbe-Puckett Center of Healing about several topics related to the Opioid crisis including the treatment options currently available.
St. Joseph's Director of Health Debra Bradley says there are a variety of treatment options for opioid use.
"There's Medication Assisted Treatment which is called 'MAT' for short and it is the most effective type of treatment, there's inpatient, there's intensive outpatient, holistic/alternative types of treatments, there's community support programs," Bradley tells the St. Joseph City Council.
The City Council was also asked about the possibility of opening a detox center.
Kristina Hannon Co-CEO of Family Guidance Center says a detox service is a three to five day stay in a treatment facility.
"There is some evidence that it is easier to engage some people in Medication Assisted Treatment immediately following an overdose if they enter into a treatment facility," says Hannon. "There's also evidence that not many people complete treatment."
Hannon notes how many people inter formal treatment plans following a detox episode.
"The National average 14.4%, Statewide average around 19% and the concerning thing about those numbers is, I mean while it's clearly very good to engage that number of people into care, the concerning thing is there's also data to show that individuals with an opioid use disorder who don't subsequently engage in long-term treatment are at significantly greater risk of dying from an overdose," says Hannon.
Hannon says the City of St. Joseph has not had a detox center in several years.