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NEWS FROM CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE
December 18, 2009
Cambridge Health Alliance Offers Innovative Treatment
for Opioid Addiction
Cambridge, MA…Are you concerned about your opioid drug use,
or that of a loved one? The holiday season is often a time of strain
and stress, especially for individuals who are struggling with addiction.
Yet, the advent of a new year is a time when many people make efforts
toward change. The Opioid Addiction and Family Project may be able
to help.
The Opioid Addiction and Family Project is designed to provide high-quality,
no-cost treatment for adults addicted to opioids, which are chemical
substances commonly used for pain relief, such as heroin or oxycodone.
The program is a study conducted by researchers at Cambridge Health
Alliance (CHA) and Harvard Medical School to examine if adding family
counseling to individual counseling and recovery medication improves
treatment outcomes.
"Over the past two years, we have seen some tremendous success
stories: young people who have stopped out-of-control drug use and
gotten their lives back on track," said Mark Albanese, MD,
CHA's Director of Addiction Services. "Our communities are
plagued by opioid abuse - we are fortunate that NIDA (National Institute
on Drug Abuse) has offered valuable support for this program."
Adults seeking help for an opioid addiction may be eligible for
the program if they are between 21 and 65 years old and live with
a family member (spouse, intimate partner, parent, or other family
member). All participants receive free individual counseling, and
half of all participants also receive free family counseling. The
counseling consists of 32 sessions over 4-5 months.
Additionally, all participants receive free Naltrexone medication.
Naltrexone is an opiate blocker approved by the Food and Drug Administration
for the treatment of opioid dependence that has been shown to improve
treatment outcomes. Counseling sessions take place at CHA's Central
Street Health Center in Somerville, Mass.
For more information, please visit www.cha.harvard.edu/opioid or
call the Opioid Addiction and Family Project at Cambridge Health
Alliance at (617) 591-6055.
Cambridge Health Alliance is an innovative, award-winning
health system that provides high quality care in Cambridge, Somerville,
and Boston's metro-north communities. It includes three hospital
campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices, the
Cambridge Public Health Dept., and the Network Health plan. CHA
is a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate and is also affiliated
with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine,
and Tufts University School of Medicine. Visit us online at www.challiance.org.
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Media Contacts
David Cecere
Cambridge Health Alliance
Phone: 617-503-8428
dcecere@challiance.org
Learn more!
CHA Opioid Addiction and Family Project
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