Veterans’ opioid addiction a growing concern
CHILLICOTHE – As the Chillicothe VA Medical Center prepares for its third community Mental Health Summit on Aug. 20, it is doing so with the recognition that dealing with an increase in opioid addiction among veterans in its service area is a growing concern.
“I know the media brings up a lot about the opiate epidemic in our area and addiction to heroin and pain pills and things like that, and that’s something we’re also seeing more and more of at this facility,” said Dr. Jonathan Lehman, a doctor in mental and behavioral health at the Chillicothe VA. “Up to a third of the people that we treat in our addictions programs are related to opiates. The No. 1 thing we see is still alcohol, but the numbers of the opiates keep growing and it’s an upward trend.”
Lehman said the increasing numbers translate to an increasing need to find the most updated and effective ways to treat each individual case.
The Chillicothe VA Medical Center offers several components for handling addiction recovery for veterans, including an outpatient substance abuse treatment clinic, residential substance abuse treatment program with 24 available beds, a Suboxone clinic for those with opioid use disorders, a contingency management program for those with cocaine use disorders, aftercare and dual-diagnoses aftercare for those being treated, and a tobacco cessation clinic for those who want to kick a smoking habit.
Dr. Daniel Bouland said the Suboxone clinic has been particularly busy.
“We’ve just been increasing the number of patients in regards to trying to get medication to help with their cravings, their wanting to use,” Bouland said. “Looking at the numbers, it seems that’s come out very nicely as the epidemic has continued to worsen.”
The local VA also has been active in providing naloxone kits to veterans and their families. Bouland said that, since he joined the facility a little more than a year ago, about 100 of the kits have been distributed and those kits have been confirmed as helping save eight lives.
Naloxone is a substance that can help reverse the effects of a drug overdose when administered in a timely manner. In the case of the local VA’s kits, it comes in the form of a nasal spray that can be used on an overdose victim by the victims themselves or their friends and family to allow time for help to arrive.
“What we try to do is not only train the vets how to use it but also get the family involved as well because, oftentimes, they’re the ones around to save them,” Lehman said. “We’re also finding that the vets are also using them on family members or significant others as well so we’re not only saving vets’ lives but also other lives in the community.”
Research has shown that other innovative approaches that focus on the mental health aspect of addiction also are showing some success, Bouland said, and the local VA has begun experimenting with those approaches as well.
“There’s some research to show that mindfulness-based practices such as meditation (and tai chi and relaxation training) and things like that can help with recovery, so we’re integrating that more into our mental health programs,” Bouland said. “We’re trying to extend out beyond the standard classes and groups and really look at a holistic approach to care.”
Lehman said that, at any given time, there are about 35 to 40 veterans in substance abuse treatment either as a resident of the facility or on an outpatient basis. On average, about 400 veterans each year go through the local VA treatment program, and oftentimes, he added, they bring the extra challenge of having damaged their base of support in the process.
“By the time a veteran has come into treatment with addiction, a lot of times they’ve burned a lot of their bridges,” Lehman said. “So it’s hard to get the trust of the family back involved in their care.
“With some of the younger vets coming through — and that population’s growing — we sometimes try to get the parents involved the best that we can, but by the time they get here, so much of those relationships have already been broken, and trying to repair that long-term is definitely a challenge.”
Mental Health Summit details
Third annual Mental Health Summit, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 20, Paccar Medical Education Center, 446 Hospital Road, registration starting at 8:30 a.m. Through small group discussions and other presentations, the event will share information on the need for additional services, dealing with barriers to access to care and other topics and how solutions may be identified through increased collaboration between the VA and the community. Pre-registration is encouraged by calling Brenda Porter at 740-773-1141, ext. 7898, or Dr. Robert Taylor at 740-773-1141, ext. 7470.