Cutting Edge Medication Assisted Opioid Addiction Treatment Center Opens On Chicago's North Shore
HIGHLAND PARK, IL (SEPTEMBER 2016) - According to the Center for Disease Control, overdose from opioids is now the leading cause of death in people under the age of 50 years old. Soft Landing Recovery (SLR), a federally-licensed and regulated Opioid Treatment Program, has opened a new location in Downtown Highland Park, IL (1910 First Street, Suite 2N), to help fight opioid and prescription medication dependence as well as addiction to other drugs and alcohol. The program offers an innovative and highly-effective approach to medication assisted treatment (MAT), integrating buprenorphine-based medications and evidence-based behavioral health interventions, and boasts success rates four times industry averages. SLR's services are covered by most commercial insurance companies, and include psychiatric services, individual, group and family counseling.
The opening of SLR Highland Park is in response to a growing need on Chicago's North Shore and surrounding communities in northern Cook and Lake Counties. Unlike traditional recovery centers and rehab programs, SLR specializes in opioid addiction treatment and provides it in a high-end outpatient setting, with a program designed to treat the whole person, not just the addiction.
"Treatment for people suffering with addiction, and especially opioid abuse, needs a comprehensive, integrated approach that combines psychological, spiritual and biological methods of addressing the disease," says Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Abdel Fahmy, MD. "Aggressive medication assisted treatment is proving to be one of the most effective ways to mitigate the deadly pathology of opioid cravings."
To help ensure a complete and long-lasting recovery, SLR also incorporates massage therapy, acupuncture, yoga, hypnosis, meditation and other alternative therapies to alleviate stress and pain, promote physical and emotional wellness and stimulate the production of natural endorphins and other beneficial chemicals in the body. SLR provides long-term care and will support patients and their families throughout their recovery journeys, providing counseling and physician support as long as required.
SLR provides all of these services, including IOP groups, on a confidential, outpatient basis. "As a result, there's no checking into a hospital or residential facility, and no checking out from family and work. People with a stable home life and support system can go on with their lives throughout treatment. And, there's no sudden reentry into the 'real world' after treatment, reducing the risk of relapse," observes SLR's Regional Executive Director, Paul Getzendanner, JD, LCSW, CADC.
SLR Highland Park is easily accessible on the Metra line to serve patients from Chicago to Southeastern Wisconsin, and will complement the already highly successful programs established at SLR's Naperville and Des Plaines locations.
MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT (MAT)
Research shows that SLR's treatment model is scientifically designed to produce the best clinical outcomes. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), effective, evidence-based treatment for opioid addiction "must include four basic elements: detoxification, rehabilitative counseling, continuing care, and Medication-Assisted Therapy." According to Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), MAT is regarded as the most effective treatment for opioid dependence and is "an essential component of an ongoing treatment plan, enabling opioid-addicted persons to regain control of their health and their lives."
Among MAT providers, SLR is unique, emphasizing buprenorphine-based medications, physician-driven, long-term treatment plans and evidence-based behavioral healthcare. This integrated, medical-behavioral approach is precisely what proves to be most effective for patients struggling with opioid-use problems.
Unlike a physician' office or group practice setting, where medications are prescribed with little or no counseling support or physician follow-up, SLR dispenses medications directly to patients who are committed to treatment and personal recovery. Patients are only dispensed what they can safely handle. Initially, patients will be given only 2-3 days of medication, gradually leading to monthly visits once the patient has demonstrated progress and the ability to manage that amount of medication. SLR physicians do not 'estimate' appropriate levels of medication; rather, medication begins with a monitored induction, which is a deliberate process based on the patient's individual withdrawal symptoms, opioid cravings and detoxification goals. Induction provides immediate relief from withdrawal symptoms, establishing a therapeutic dose of medication that permits the patient to focus on treatment and recovery.
As Dr. Fahmy explains: "Once evaluated, a small dose of medication is dispensed and monitored on site over a 2 to 4-hour period to see how the patient responds, and treatment and dosage can be adjusted up or down accordingly based on patient's feedback, which is a far more scientific and patient-friendly approach."
SLR's SUPERIOR PATIENT OUTCOMES
Based on their dedication to state-of-the-art MAT with integrated physical, emotional and mental health services, SLR patients enjoy success rates that far exceed industry averages. Compared to universal statistics for opioid-dependent patients where the relapse rate can be as high as 90 percent, only 13 percent of SLR patients have relapsed or returned-to-use at the one-year mark. Moreover, 86 percent of SLR patients remain engaged and successful in treatment after six months, compared to other programs that typically experience dropout rates of 67 and 55 percent for outpatient and residential treatment, respectively. And, while overdose deaths have literally skyrocketed, SLR has a zero percent mortality rate. In short, SLR provides patients and their families effective, evidence-based addiction treatment that produces the best results.
ABOUT SOFT LANDING RECOVERY
SLR is an innovative physician-driven drug treatment facility that first opened in DuPage County in 2007. As a SAMHSA-certified and CARF-accredited Opioid Treatment Program (OTP), SLR is one of only a handful of facilities in Illinois offering ambulatory detoxification and is among the first to integrate the medical and behavioral aspects of patient care in a harmonious and collaborative model.
SLR is licensed by Illinois' Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and is a member of the Lake County Opioid Initiative and Chicago Opioid Abuse Taskforce.
SLR Highland Park is located at 1910 First Street, Suite 2N, in Downtown Highland Park and has counselors available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is no waiting list and physicians are on call 24/7. Same-day appointments and walk-ins are welcome.
The public is encouraged to call Soft Landing Recovery's confidential hotline for a free, 15-minute phone consultation to discuss how they can help break the cycle of addiction: Toll-Free 1-888-782-6966; Highland Park 847-813-2559; Naperville 630-261-9220; Des Plaines 847-813-2558.