Family and Children's Association to expand 'opioid use disorder' treatment with $500G state grant
Buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, is shown at New Island Pharmacy in Deer Park in August 2019. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
People seeking treatment for "opioid use disorder" will now have better access to a "front-line medication" and support services at a Garden City human service agency that's received a state grant of up to $500,000.
Family and Children's Association is among 15 groups statewide receiving a share of the $7 million in grants from New York's Opioid Settlement Fund.
The grants are to support programs that are "designed to meet the ongoing need for medication and other addiction services by providing same-day, immediate enrollment in buprenorphine treatment and care management," Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in a statement Monday.
Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive of Family and Children's Association, the only Long Island organization that received a grant, said the funding would enable his agency to hire additional medical personnel, peer counselors and therapists to bring more "immediacy" to helping someone in need of treatment.
Reynolds added that buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone, is a "front line medication for opioid use disorder," which he said was one of three medications currently used.
A Harvard Medical School article said Suboxone was "a combination medication containing buprenorphine and naloxone," and "is one of the main medications used to treat opioid addiction" and has been shown to reduce the risk of fatal overdoses by about 50%." It also reduces the risk of nonfatal overdoses.
Suboxone, "is quickly becoming the gold standard" treatment, Reynolds said. It "takes away a person's craving for opioids. It's not a narcotic. You're not going to get high on it."
He added, "This medication is designed to address a life-threatening condition. We need to use every tool in our toolbox."
He said the availability of Suboxone was "getting better" on Long Island, but people need to get into treatment more quickly. "You need time to be off opioids before you start Suboxone," which Reynolds said could range from 12 to 36 hours. "That waiting time and complications" from withdrawal "meant sometimes people never showed up for appointments, because that's the way addiction works."
With the added personnel the grant will enable Family and Children's to hire, Reynolds said. "The difference is you don't have to wait two weeks for an appointment." He said the additional staff could monitor the patient seeking treatment, whether in person or virtually. "We would connect with them via telehealth through a peer counselor or therapist … We can coach them through how to get through that piece of withdrawal" so they are then ready to receive the medication."
The cost of the medication itself is reimbursed through Medicaid or patients' private insurance, Reynolds said. He said the state grant enables the "scaling up of staff. It enables us to deal with walk-ins and calls for help in a more immediate way."
New Yorkers seeking treatment for addiction can call the state's toll-free number at 877-HOPENY (877-846-7369) or by texting 467369.
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