New NEIBH program is aimed at opioid abuse

Decorah has a new weapon in the war against opioid abuse

A healthcare provider called "UCS Healthcare" now has a facility within Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health's facility in Decorah and has begun accepting patients for treatment.  The Decorah location is one of five new locations planned by UCS Healthcare in 2019 in Iowa.

UCS Healthcare Nursing Supervisor RN/BSN Lacy Brittenson says her organization uses "Medication Assisted Treatment," which administers safe, monitored doses of Methadone or Suboxone to alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms, but also adds therapy programs such as counseling, vocational, educational and other treatment programs.  So-called "Medication-Assisted Therapy" has been shown by research to have higher rates of success than programs using medications only.  "People do better when they do both," says Brittenson.

Brittenson says the methadone is carefully prescribed.  Each client must sign a "recovery contract" which sets expectations about how they will behave.  The medication is given in 30 milligram doses at first, then gradually increased.

NEIBH Executive Director Marcia Oltrogge says "We do not have a huge number of people who are on MAT. But we expect there are a lot of people out there."  Indeed, statistics compiled by the State of Iowa show opioid death rates in NE Iowa are high in several counties.  UCS Healthcare's Des Moines clinic treats around 800 clients each month, while its Waterloo clinic treats around 100 each month.

The new UCS Healthcare facility within Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health is a secure facility with many features to make sure the methadone is taken properly.

More information about UCS Healthcare's Medication Assisted Treatment is available at: https://www.ucsonline.org/what-we-do/substance-use-disorder/medication-assisted-treatment  More information about Medication Assisted Treatment in general is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' website, https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/treatment