Centerstone to host free, virtual Medication Assisted Treatment: Who is it for? webinar

Centerstone, a national leader in behavioral health care, will host a free, virtual Medication Assisted Treatment: Who is it for? webinar on Thursday, July 14 from noon to 1 p.m.

Medication Assisted Treatment or MAT is a whole-person treatment option designed to help people aged 18 and up who have a severe addiction to alcohol or opioids. MAT combines traditional mental health therapy with special medication to assist someone in their recovery with the goal of reduced cravings and negative withdrawal symptoms, and improved physical wellbeing. This webinar will help explain MAT and who it best serves.

Objectives of the training include:

• To increase knowledge of medications offered through MAT.
• To dispel myths associated with MAT.
• To identify signs of substance use and overdose.
• To assist in identifying appropriate referrals for MAT.
• To identify how MAT services benefits clients and the community.

The presenter of the training will be Jennifer Miller, LCPC, CRC. Miller is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois. She is currently the statewide Clinical Coordinator over MAT services for Centerstone operations in Illinois and has been working in community mental health settings since graduating with her master’s degree from Adler University in 2017. Miller has spent her years at Centerstone working with individuals that are receiving MAT services and has specialized training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, and co-occurring disorders.    

This training has 1 hour of continuing education approved for IL LCPC / LPC, IL LCSW / LSW, and IL Nursing (LPN, RN, APN) under IDFPR Professional Counselor CE License No. 197.000263 and IDFPR Nurse CE Sponsor License No. 236.000184.

For more information, contact Taylor Marks, Project Director for Youth and Family Tree, Flourish and Centerstone MAT programs, at taylor.marks@centerstone.org or call 1-877-HOPE123 (877-467-3123), ext. 1813.

This training is sponsored by Centerstone’s Medication Assisted Treatment (CMAT) program and is funded in part by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

This webinar will be offered again on the 2^nd Thursday at noon in October 2022.

With this grant, Centerstone will help 350 adult opioid use disorder (OUD) clients residing in Calhoun, Madison, Montgomery, Macoupin, Green, Jersey, Bond and St. Clair counties in Illinois, all counties designated medically underserved areas.

Here are a few startling statistics regarding the counties served by the grant:

• In St. Clair County from 2017-2018, fatal opioid overdoses increased by 235%
• Jersey (76.8), St. Clair (59.8), Madison (56.9) and Montgomery (47.1) have significantly higher opioid dispensing rates than Illinois (43.1)
• Macoupin has a 1,890:1 patient-to-mental health provider ratio
• Only three MAT treatment programs are available in the grant’s counties
• Madison is ranked 2^nd and Jersey 4^th in Illinois for the highest opioid-related emergency room visits 
• 42% of those residing in the grant’s counties received prescription opioids, and 599 experienced opioid/heroin overdoses in 2020
• An estimated 5,100 adults in the counties covered by the grant have an OUD and another 3,100+ are expected to have OUD and a co-occurring disorder (COD)

The grant will enhance/expand access to MAT services, and increase by 350 the number of persons receiving MAT and maintaining abstinence from opioids such as heroin or pain pills. In addition, the grant will ensure comprehensive treatment for all clients, along with wraparound supports and linkages to other care needed.  Recognizing the new health care environment brought about by COVID-19, the project will provide telehealth services to a minimum of 100 clients.

In addition, persons in recovery along with other providers, family members, and project staff will comprise an advisory group that will guide the project. Collaboration with law enforcement and corrections facilities, staff and community education around OUD and MAT, and improved client outcomes from treatment, are also project goals.   “Prevalent OUD and limited access to treatment in the eight counties results in negative health outcomes,” said Stacy Seitz, Centerstone Clinical Director. “In 2019 in Illinois, 80% of drug overdoses involved opioids compared to 70% nationally. Opioid overdoses caused 2.3 times more deaths than homicide, twice as many deaths as car crashes, and accounted for more than 16,000 emergency management system responses.”