A new addiction treatment center is set to open in Edmond, Okla. in early 2019. The Integris Health Foundation will be placing the Arcadia Trails Center for Addiction Recovery on their Edmond campus to assist persons dealing with trauma, mental health and substance use disorders.
Integris Health Edmond president Avilla Williams said that placing the treatment center on-site of the hospital will help people view addiction and mental health disorders as medical conditions.
The total project costs were estimated at $46 million. Integris contributed $11 million for land and construction. Twenty-three million of the remaining $35 million has been raised thus far through foundation and community donations.
Williams said that she is pleased with the amount of support Oklahomans have shown for the addiction treatment center.
Arcadia Trails will offer patients a 90-day residential addiction treatment program. Patients will stay in a 40-bed complex adjacent to the facility. The two-story building will have a conference room along with administration and support services on the top floor, while the lower courtyard-level floor will include dining and community rooms and areas designated for crafts, group therapy and exercise. Integris officials have also designated areas to hold educational seminars for treatment providers and community members.
When patients enter the facility, they will be given an intake evaluation, followed by an educational session about their specific substance use disorder. They will then undergo drug detox. Different support group members and medical specialists will work with each patient to determine an appropriate holistic recovery plan. Some supplemental approaches include developing sober living goals, exploring the potential roles of spirituality in addiction recovery and fostering communication and coping skills.
After completing residential addiction treatment, patients will receive additional follow-up care from Arcadia Trails staff.
Integris plans to staff the facility with a minimum of 25 personnel, including psychologists, physicians, nurses and therapists.
In response to rising drug overdose trends in the state, Terri White — Commissioner of Oklahoma’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS)— and three other local professionals developed plans for the treatment center back in 2011.
Oklahoma’s drug and alcohol poisoning rate has nearly tripled between 2002 and 2017, White said. She estimated that only a third of the people with substance use disorders in the state are receiving the treatment they require.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 790 cases of drug overdose deaths occurred in Oklahoma between October 2016 and October 2017. These numbers represent a near 2 percent increase from the previous year.
Lawmakers have attempted to implement new regulations in recent months to address the state’s opioid epidemic. Gov. Mary Fallin recently approved the 2019 fiscal state budget, which would allocate $5 million in funding for ODMHSAS. She also passed recommendations from the Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse.
Once in effect, these laws would enforce measures to categorize fentanyl trafficking as a felony, require physicians and pharmacists to utilize electronic prescription software, and enact a Good Samaritan Law in the state.
Author: Sean Woodard
Sean Woodard is a journalist for Addiction Now and serves on the Film Department for Drunk Monkeys Literary Magazine and Film Blog. Focusing on a wide variety of interests, Sean’s fiction, film criticism, and other writing have been featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, Found Polaroids, and Los Angeles Magazine, among other publications. A native of Visalia, CA, he now resides in Orange County. Contact Sean at seanw@addictionnow.com
