Tuesday, 05 January 2010 22:20 Written by Terry Newton

Letter From The Director  2009

As I reflect on this past year I see one of great challenge for the State of Michigan yet hope for a bright future. It is only by working together that we can achieve great things and effectively steer Michigan to a path of recovery. The survivability of programs like Harbor Hall and the many other non-profit organizations that treat social concerns depends on a healthy economy. Without programs like ours, addiction is dealt with in a costlier fashion, such as jails, prisons, emergency rooms along with secondary expenses of lost productivity, broken homes, highway deaths and other social problems.

I am reminded of working together on a daily basis by our volunteer board of directors and the dedicated staff who work hard to help us fulfill our mission. I am also reminded of this by my involvement in Rotary and the many coalitions I serve on to help eliminate the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs by our local youth. Many fine local people serve in these different organizations to help make our community and the world at large a better place to live in.

Because of reductions in state revenue Harbor Hall has had to rely even greater on contributions from corporate sponsors, individuals and their families. As we approach nearly forty years of operation our mission is as vital today as it’s ever been.

Harbor Hall continues to be involved with others in the field to shape the way we treat addiction. From the Minnesota Model to the move towards Recovery Oriented Systems of Care, we continue to strive for new and better methods of treatment. May we never forget that we work with people first and foremost? These people come to us as individuals that are vulnerable, yet resilient and enmeshed with their own strengths.

I am humbled by the mission that we strive to achieve daily at Harbor Hall. Our mission is to educate the public at large about the devastating effects of alcoholism and chemical dependency and, to provide cost effective treatment to the addicted person still suffering, along with their families.

I have had the good fortune to have worked at some of the finest treatment centers in the country such as The Betty Ford Center and Hazelden. The disease we share does not discriminate in regards to age, gender, social status, education, financial position, etc. However, I look at the price of treatment today and wonder how people can afford to participate in getting themselves well. Programs costing $14,000 per month and above are out of the scope of average Americans who are also afflicted by this disease. At Harbor Hall we strive to provide the best treatment for the disease of addiction at a cost that is affordable.

Recent reports by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conclude:

Too often, addiction goes untreated: According to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 23.2 million persons (9.4 percent of the U.S. population) aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2007. Of these individuals, 2.4 million (10.4 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility (i.e., hospital, drug or alcohol rehabilitation or mental health center). Thus, 20.8 million persons (8.4 percent of the population aged 12 or older) needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive it. These estimates are similar to those in previous years.

They also give testimony on what constitutes the Principles of Effective Substance Abuse Treatment:

Scientific research since the mid–1970s shows that treatment can help patients addicted to drugs stop using, avoid relapse, and successfully recover their lives. Based on this research, key principles have emerged that should form the basis of any effective treatment programs:

• Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.
• No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.
• Treatment needs to be readily available.
• Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse.
• Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical.
• Counseling—individual and/or group—and other behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of drug abuse treatment.
• Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with counseling and other behavioral therapies.
• An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs.
• Many drug–addicted individuals also have other mental disorders.
• Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long–term drug abuse.
• Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.
• Drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously, as lapses during treatment do occur.
• Treatment programs should assess patients for the presence of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as provide targeted risk–reduction counseling to help patients modify or change behaviors that place them at risk of contracting or spreading infectious diseases.
• Harbor Hall prides itself in practicing all of these principles in our treatment of addiction. We treat male and female clients from adolescence through senior citizens in our outpatient clinics and adult males in our residential programs.

It has also been proven by research that effective treatment is at least ninety days in scope and intensity.

Harbor Hall provides 60 – 90 days of primary residential treatment for adult males. This treatment is provided at a cost of $8,550 for the full 90 day length of stay. When combined with one of our sober living facilities, at a cost of $425 per month upon completion of residential treatment, the chances of ongoing recovery improve dramatically. The men who graduate from residential treatment can remain at the sober living facility for up to one year or longer, depending upon individual needs. These facilities have been a springboard for many young men who now contribute greatly to the communities they come from. Our outpatient programs also embrace providing cost effective treatment on an individualized basis.

It has been a little over two years since we lost our main benefactor, Leo Desimpel. Life has gone on though his spirit lives on in the great facilities that he helped to create. I know he would be proud of all that we continue to do on behalf of the chemically dependent person that is still out there struggling. He left a lasting legacy and the building that is named after him is a strong testament to the greatness that he achieved on our behalf. We are blessed by having his wife Lois continue to be actively involved in Harbor Hall's Ladies Auxiliary.

In parting I once again want to reiterate how it takes togetherness to beat the disease of addiction. It will continue to take togetherness to get our once great State’s financial condition back up to par with the rest of the country's recovery. It is modeling what we in recovery already know; “Alone we are nothing but, together we can accomplish great things."

Warm Regards For A Blessed New Year,

Terry Newton, Executive Director

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 21:42 Written by Terry Newton

Director's Perspective by Nora Volkow, M.D., NIDA Director (National Institute of Drug Abuse)

Addiction is a chronic disease. Epidemiological evidence clearly shows that while science-based treatments are effective, many patients achieve long-lasting recovery only after years of therapy, often including multiple treatment episodes. Neurobiological research on drugs' effects reinforces the message of chronicity: It shows that repeated drug use causes long-term changes in the way the brain processes information and emotions.

As a chronic disease, addiction responds best to treatment approaches already applied to other chronic conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes. These incorporate patient education and self-care, long-term monitoring with attention to complications, and prompt escalation to higher levels of care when symptoms intensify. Continuity of care is key. Without it, patients are less likely to accumulate the sequential gains that ultimately result in long-term, stable control over their condition.

Accordingly, NIDA is sponsoring a wide range of research to understand and respond to substance abuser's needs at each point of care, from the initial presentation for treatment through all stages of recovery. Our ultimate aim is to develop and promote a full-spectrum of care with powerful initial treatments, long-term followup and support, interventions to stave off relapses, and rapid return to treatment when relapse occurs. Further, we are designing these programs for use by community treatment providers so that they can be implemented there as soon as they become available.

Some established interventions, such as methadone and buprenorphine maintenance, are inherantly suited to the chronic nature of addiction. NIDA investigators have recently demonstrated positive results from several new approaches that build on patients' achievements in initial treatment, including monthly cognitive behavioral therapy booster sessions and telephone-based continuing care. NIDA researchers are also seeking to facilitate the efficient implementation of new treatment protocols and practices and invite feedback from staff implementing these protocols in therapeutic settings.

Many questions must still be answered before we can fully understand and respond to all the implications of addiction over its long, perhaps lifelong, course. Recognizing that addiction is a chronic illness enables us to ask the most important questions and translate the answers into new and improved treatment approaches and interventions.

Monday, 12 October 2009 18:04 Written by Terry Newton

Treatment is Available

Even though Michigan does not have a balanced budget at this time, Harbor Hall has been continuing to provide treatment services to clients who have not been able to self pay for the level of care they are requiring.

If you come from the thirty county area from Midland to Mackinaw City, your treatment services may be covered by block grant dollars.

These monies are administered through Northern Michigan Substance Abuse Services (NMSAS) out of Gaylord.

To find out if you are eligible for funding please call The Access Center at 800-686-0749.

NMSAS's fee policy is very generous for eligibility as it is based on 206% of poverty. This means that a family size of one is eligible with a salary of $21,033.  Even if you think that you may not be eligible, it is worth calling to see what services they might refer you to based on your presenting issues.

Friday, 18 September 2009 19:43 Written by Terry Newton

Harbor Hall Responds to Area Opioid Dependence Issue

For several months you have been watching the ads on television about the new drug pusher in town. Pictures of a readily accessible medicine cabinet show up and warn us about the need to lock away our prescription pain medications. Other ads have talked about the practice of "pharming," where a combination of drugs are put in a bowl to be used by area teens. Often it’s thought that the issue of prescription drug abuse is a down state issue and cannot be in our Northern Michigan towns. Unfortunately, we are not immuned. In fact, Northern Michigan has some of the highest rates of prescription drug addiction in the state.

Northern Michigan has tried to get an Opiate Replacement Clinic in the area but it has struggled in despite serious efforts due to budget constraints in the state.

Many people may have felt that addicted persons brought this on themselves and are not worthy of compassion. This is similar to thought processes that occurred years ago when AIDS was coming to the forefront. It was only through education that people realized that many were victims of tainted blood transfusions, contracting the disease through a sexual partner or, through the womb, and then the disease was treated with research dollars, compassion, and new treatments. The same is true for many in Northern Michigan who started out with legitimate pain issues and became addicted to opiate pain medication. The key term to realize, with prescription drug abuse, is that the drugs are prescribed. This is not to say that it is the doctor’s fault for this epidemic drug problem as they are acting out of concern for patient’s presenting diagnosis and treatment. The key is not to place blame but, to treat the problem once it has occurred. Some of the front-line defense in the treatment of opioid addiction is detoxification and treatment to get off of the substance. With some patients though, long-term addiction results in a change in brain chemistry which makes it very difficult for the person to come off of the opiate.

One of the leading medications used to treat opiate addiction is Suboxone. Buprenorphine (the primary active compound) reduces patients' opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. In addition, buprenorphine may discourage patients' use of non-prescribed opioids by binding to the mu receptor, thereby blocking other opioids' effects. An important element to realize is that Suboxone treatment without counseling has been shown to have little effect. Because it is such a crucial element, the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 requires that physicians seeking to obtain the certification to prescribe Suboxone must be able to provide or refer patients for counseling. Counseling means to actively help the client work on underlying issues through a patient-centered treatment plan.

Because Harbor Hall is committed to seeing clients succeed we have developed extensive programming that includes physician prescribed Suboxone in combination with counseling to work on lifestyle issues. Harbor Hall has contracted with two physicians that can accept up to one hundred area opiate addicted individuals. The fees are very reasonable for getting on the Suboxone and many clients can qualify for funding to cover the required counseling. If you are already seeing someone else for Suboxone therapy and wish to transfer the fee is only $130.00. If you have not been on Suboxone therapy and wish to try this avenue of treatment, the cost is a $200.00 Suboxone induction fee and a monthly $72.00 medication review.

If you are interested in any further information about treatment options for yourself or a loved one please call 231-347-9880