As part of the ongoing effort to fight the nation’s opioid epidemic, the Louisiana Department of Health Office of Behavioral Health is offering extended hours and treatment services in the Northwest and Northshore regions of the state. Traci Perry, the opioid treatment authority at OBH says the goal is to get services to the areas where they’re needed most.
“The two regions where we’ve expanded access to 24 hours, seven days a week; they both have rural and urban settings,” said Perry. “The goal is to increase access to these life-saving services.”
Access is one of the largest barriers for people trying to break the cycle of addiction. The OBH clinics will provide comprehensive services on a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week basis. Perry says it takes a combination of medication and evidence-based treatment to keep patients on the right track.
“Statistics show that once you use medication and other services, it increases the likelihood of a person being able to stay in recovery,” she said.
Services are already available at Behavioral Health Group in Shreveport and are expected to be up and running at BayMark Programs North Shore in Hammond in June. Perry says those two regions were chosen based on data collected by the state’s prescription monitoring program, though OBH expects to expand the program in the future.
“We believe that recovery is possible and we want people to know that treatment is available,” Perry added. “So through providing these services, we want to have patients empowered.”
The program is funded by the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and through the Louisiana State Opioid Response 2.0 Grant.
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