Vermont Business Magazine Senator Leahy announced Friday that a $3 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was awarded to the Vermont Department of Health to increase access to Medication Assisted Treatment in Vermont for high risk individuals with an opioid dependency. Howard Center, the Northwestern Medical Center, and the West Ridge Center at Rutland Regional Medical Center will receive funding from the grant to coordinate services for 375 individuals statewide.
The grant will provide integrated, evidence-based medical treatment and therapeutic counseling for people involved with Probation and Parole, Department of Children and Families and are on waiting lists for treatment. Additionally, the grant will allow the implementation of Med-O-Wheel, a new cutting-edge technology which enables closer monitoring of a patient’s use of medication, allowing for increases in take-home medication and thus reducing the costs of transportation. Med-O-Wheel is a tamper-free device which disperses dosage-controlled medication and is appropriate as part of a treatment plan for low-risk individuals. The technology will allow more people to be served and may be used as an alternative treatment option for individuals in rural areas who face transportation barriers.
John Brooklyn, MD, Medical Director of the Chittenden Clinic says, “This grant will enable us to serve more individuals who have an opioid dependency which will have a lasting impact on families and communities in our state.”
Other key Howard Center staff include Dana Poverman, LADC, LCMHC, Director of Medication Assisted Treatment Programs at Howard Center, and Tom Dalton, MA, LADC, Project Manager at the Chittenden Clinic.
Source: Howard Center 8.7.2015