 |
|
For Immediate Release
Date: August 18, 2016
Contact: Leslie Piotrowski
(847) 377-8055
Hannah Goering
(847) 377-8099
|
Lake
County, Il – The Lake County Jail and
Health Department are announcing the launch of a Vivitrol Pre-Release Pilot
Program for qualifying inmates in the Lake County Jail. The initiative is part
of the Health Department’s newly expanded Medication-Assisted Treatment
program, which recently received a grant of $325,000 from the Health Resources
and Services Administration.
Undersheriff
Raymond J. Rose stated, “We began researching Vivitrol as a treatment option
for opioid or alcohol addicted inmates last summer using Winnebago County as
one of several models. We were impressed with their program’s success in
combining Vivitrol with intensive addiction treatment, referred to as
Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Recent changes in Illinois law offer
coverage for Vivitrol treatment and a partnership with the Lake County Health
Department to deliver MAT treatment makes sure inmates who want to break the
cycle of addiction are provided the resources to do so.”
By the end of
August, inmates who are opioid or alcohol addicted will have another treatment
option available to them. Those who
voluntarily express an interest in the Vivitrol program will undergo an
assessment and education process to determine if they are appropriate for the
program. Those eligible will begin receiving addiction treatment services through
the Health Department in the jail and after they are released. Armor, the
medical provider for the jail, will administer an injection of Vivitrol prior
to the participating inmate’s release. The Health Department has committed to treating 15
inmates over the next six months.
“Former inmates are at high risk for death
from drug overdose, especially in the immediate post-release period,” said Mark
Pfister, the Health Department’s Interim Executive Director. “Research has identified
that there is higher risk for overdose immediately following release which can
be attributed to a change in drug tolerance while incarcerated. Once released,
these individuals may not realize that their tolerance has diminished and can
accidentally overdose.”
Vivitrol (naltrexone)
is a non-addictive drug that helps to reduce cravings for alcohol and opioids.
It was approved by the FDA in 2006 for the treatment of alcoholism and for the
treatment of opioid addiction in 2010.
It works by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, reducing the
pleasurable effects of alcohol and opioid drugs.
“Collaborations with community partners are
helping us address the growing problem of opioid addiction in Lake County,”
said Pfister. “This partnership with the Jail enables us to begin to treat
people while they are still in jail and continue to treat them once they are
back in the community. We believe this approach will help them stay on course
with their recovery and reduce their likeliness of going back to jail.”
The population of
residents in need of substance abuse services has substantially increased in
Lake County. In 1998, the county had 30 deaths that were attributed to
substance abuse. By 2010, that number
had more than tripled to 92. Opioid related deaths in 2008 were 47 and
increased in 2015 to 58.
For decades, the Lake County Health
Department/Community Health Center has been the primary provider of substance
abuse services for residents in the county. Its services include screening
brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT), in-patient detox and
rehabilitation services, outpatient substance abuse counseling, medication-assisted
treatment and women’s residential services. It established an Outpatient
Substance Abuse program in the 1970s to address a growing population of
residents with substance abuse concerns. The program, located at 3004 Grand
Avenue in Waukegan, provides both drug-free treatment as well as
medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using methadone and Suboxone to treat
opioid addiction.
| 
