Since 1971, CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, a nonprofit behavioral health organization, has been providing innovative treatment and recovery services to the community of Rhode Island. Over more than five decades as the opioid epidemic grew in severity, CODAC's commitment to empathy, compassion, and current and effective solutions became more and more pronounced, and the organization gained exponential trust and recognition across both state and country.
In its efforts to make substance use disorder (SUD) treatment more accessible, CODAC developed a Mobile Medical Unit initiative that delivers essential care and medicine to underserved communities. Recently, CODAC announced the development of a new, innovative, and all-encompassing Integrated Care Center, a facility where all health and wellness needs will be met. Expected to launch in late Spring 2024, CODAC's Integrated Care Center will offer e-community members a broad range of medical services, including a specialization on substance and opioid use disorders, all under one roof.
When speaking of CODAC's futuristic vision, Linda Hurley, CEO and President of CODAC, gives one key example, "We want the Integrated Care Center to be a place where community members, regardless of their location, can bring a child that has a respiratory infection for primary care, and there will be a pharmacy where they can get antibiotics, there will be specialists from all areas of expertise, and we will provide this service seven days a week."
For those challenged by opioid and substance dependence, CODAC will offer services that address all potential needs. For instance, the center will be prepared to tackle societal issues such as response to substance treatments and the global stigma around substance use. From the first visit to the facility, CODAC aims to provide psychiatric care, primary medical care, general mental and behavioral healthcare, and other services that elevate recovery and minimize relapse risks.
"We personalize care, based on individuals' needs and goals, to help them live the life they want to live. All care is based on a patient's needs, as they define them, not as providers, institutions, or society, define them.
Based on the needs demonstrated by their patients over the years, CODAC distinguished the three most crucial specialties that affect substance use recovery. Currently available at CODAC's seven other locations, the new Integrated Care Center will provide infectious disease treatment for HIV and Hepatitis C, two illnesses often related to substance abuse. The second specialty is reproductive healthcare for women throughout their lives, not just during their prime childbearing years. Pre- and post-childbearing years are immensely affected by opioid use disorders (OUD), and ensuring women's needs relative to their endocrinology are met is crucial. Lastly, the third specialization focuses on healthy aging and providing services that help those with substance use disorders as their bodies age. CODAC's goal is to provide services and resources to community members across their lifespan.
CODAC has been providing opioid abuse treatments for over 50 years, and naturally, that will be the focus of the nonprofit's new center. However, to respond to patient's needs CODAC will integrate experts in health and wellness across the board, from dentistry, cardiology, pediatrics, neurology, and emergency medicine. Dedicated to serving all members of communities, CODAC will designate a space for Medicaid and health insurance providers, ensuring patients with unclear status or those who didn't sign up in time aren't denied services.
CODAC will continue to offer state-of-the-art OUD programs, utilizing research-based and outcome-driven MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) and MOUD (Medications for Opioid Use Disorder) programs. Alongside these treatments, the Integrated Care Center will expand its re-entry program called The Hope Initiative. The project, by working closely with police departments, is able to deploy a team of clinicians, peers, and non-uniformed police officers whenever it receives an OD emergency notification. "The Hope Initiative primarily aids families," says Linda. "When survivors of overdose regain consciousness they're rarely in a place to ask for help. We help families and friends connect with specialists to ensure safety and provide services as requested, ensuring the individual's needs are met."
Inclusive of street outreach and harm reduction activities, a full peer recovery support center is one of the most prominent new features of the Integrated Care Center. Additionally, CODAC will offer community meeting spaces and training rooms, NIH grant offices, Department of Labor job training, and a career path development program. Through the integration of all healthcare and wellness services, CODAC aims to remove the barriers many individuals face when seeking to live a self-directed life, assisting them to live the life they want to live.
Before embarking on the mission to connect all areas of expertise within one facility, CODAC, accompanied by the Rhode Island Department of Health, led a study aimed at collecting crucial data. The study included tobacco treatment patients and revealed that only 53% of patients attended psychiatric therapy when the therapist was a mile away from the tobacco treatment facility. On the other hand, 91% of patients attended therapy when the specialist was in the same building, indicating that patients are more likely to follow doctors' recommendations and see appropriate healthcare professionals when transportation is not an issue.
CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, a national leader in opioid and substance use disorder treatment since 1971, remains dedicated to its mission of integrating healthcare, lowering barriers for all individuals, especially those affected by poverty, and providing the highest quality services to all. "We've always been committed to delivering services no other organization provided. Healthcare is such a crucial aspect of life, and it is incredibly disheartening that so many people struggle with access to competent services," adds Linda. "At CODAC, we're all about inclusivity, equity, and compassion, and these values will be paramount at the new Integrated Care Center."
