As a working nurse on a behavioral health unit, I service many patients that are disadvantaged and/or vulnerable harm. There is a large population of people that are susceptible to developing illnesses and diseases. This population includes people who are: “educationally disadvantaged, economically disadvantaged, mentally disabled, handicapped, homeless, pregnant women, alcohol and substance abusers” (Henry, 2012, table 8). These people lack access to resources needed for medical care and everyday needs to sustain good health. In most cases the disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals lack daily hygiene, nutrition, sleep and physical activity. As stated in an article on the National Institute of Health (NIH) website: There are many …show more content…
The most important objective that I feel will assist to achieve the Healthy People 2020 goals for individuals that are addicted to substances are to increase the percentage of the patients to enroll in follow-up treatments that are available and utilize the emergency department services. “estimated 22 million Americans struggled with a drug or alcohol problem. Almost 95 percent of people with substance use problems are considered unaware of their problem” ("Overview," 2010, para. 2). Most hospitals offer follow-up outpatient intensive recovery treatments, Alcoholic Anonyms, Churches, and private companies, such as Twin Towne in Orange County. Emergency Departments are available, approximately 35 in Orange County open 24 hours catering to patients in crisis. A patient struggling with substance abuse could go to any of those areas to start a sobriety program, they will get guidance according to funds and insurance. It is important that individuals that suffer from substance abuse become aware of their problem. Self-awareness is the first step to recovery. Once aware of the problem, communicating the issues to family or professionals should then be initiated to seek help. Acute alcohol detox can alter a patient’s mental and medical status and is recommended to have a medically supervised detoxification. Major life threatening sign and
Drug addiction and alcoholism have a devastating effect on not only the addicts who suffers from these illnesses, but also on friends, family and workmates who interact with these addicts on a regular basis. When the addict finally succumbs to their addiction, the only way out is usually through the help of a professional and reputable inpatient addiction treatment center.
For Sonoma County, California addicts deeply entrenched in their addiction, the ability to choose the right type of drug and alcohol rehab facility is often limited by their mental capacity. The perfect solution is enlisting the services of a drug and alcohol rehab referral service. A professional rehab referral service will have access to a data base of the most prominent and successful outpatient and inpatient addiction treatment centers in the
First of all, any person with an alcohol issue, no matter how large their issue is, will deny it. Denial protects the alcoholic from dealing with the problem that they have. According to "Addiction and Denial”, "Those who are addicted to alcohol or drugs can have little insight into their own condition as a result of denial" (1). This means they are avoiding the problem for a reason, and they will not and can not make the step to admitting their problem to themselves and others. Admitting to an issue is very important though, because admitting to the issue is the only way and the first step to regaining a normal life and defeating the disease of alcoholism. Detox facilities cannot force any person to go into treatment, so the person needs to have admitted their problem and signed into a treatment center while sober if they want to get better. This is very controversial because many alcoholics use many different excuses about their problem and will not admit it. Some
“In Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018, SAMHSA has identified six Strategic Initiatives on which it will focus to guide the behavioral health system, reduce barriers to employment, education and life goals, social support changes, and promote individual, programs and system level approaches to improve health for substance abuse.” (SAMHSA, 2014). “SAMHSA is committed to addressing the nation’s health disparities by improving cultural and linguistic competence and access to prevention programs that serve diverse groups and communities. Many prevention approaches, such as selective prevention strategies, focus on helping individuals develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to make good choices
While doing research on this community, it became apparent that the public has access to many different social services that have helped the residents achieve wellness (Abra et al., 2016), including Edgewood Health Network, a rehabilitation centre for addictions and mental health. However, there is no support for people who are currently active drug users or have relapsed (Edgewood Health Network, n.d). Studies have shown that relapsed users have an increased risk of
In the United States, many Americans can argue that we are facing a drug epidemic whether it is alcohol or illicit drugs other than medicinal marijuana. In response to this drug epidemic, organizations were created that are supported by the government and law enforcement in an effort to give addicts a chance to get clean. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous are two organizations that focus on helping people who struggle from alcoholism or any addiction cope with the symptoms of withdrawal in efforts to stay clean with the support of their organization’s community. Although these two organization’s goals are similar, they attack these problems differently beginning with step one out of their twelve step program to help addicts get clean.
Rosemont Center is located in Columbus, Ohio. It provides for the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being of troubled youth and their families. Rosemont is committed to helping children in need; it is dedicated to healing and renewing youths with a history of trouble and abuse. Rosemont provides the unconditional acceptance, treatment, counseling, education and hope that the youths urgently need to be more productive members of the community. Rosemont had two locations, Rosemont-Bay Saint Louis and Rosemont-Jackson (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2008).
The agency that I visited was the University of Houston-Clear Lake Psychological Services Clinic (UHCL PSC) which was located in the Arbor building. In order to learn more about the UHCL PSC program, I interviewed Dr. Julia Strait. Dr. Strait is the Clinic Director at the UHCL PSC and She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of School Psychology. Dr. strait was very kind and gave me the opportunity to learn more about her. She received her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin and her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of South Carolina. Her areas of interest in psychology are the brain, memory, and behavior problems. She is a Licensed Psychologist (TN), Provisionally Licensed Psychologist (TX), Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP; TX), and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP). Dr. Strait was previously an English High school and middle school teacher before she started in the school psychology Ph.D. program at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Strait also has experience with children who suffered from neglect, maltreatment (physical and sexual abuse) while working at a hospital for a couple of years.
The first is admission. The person has to admit to having a drinking problem and has to be able to ask for help. Step two is Detoxification. The person goes through the process of detoxification, a process in which the body adjusts to functioning without alcohol. Step three is counseling, in which the person receives counseling to help him or her learn to live without alcohol. Step four, the last step, is final recovery. In this, the person takes responsibility for his or her own life.
The mistake was that the patient’s history of alcohol use was not obtained during admission, therefore, the patient was at risk for withdraw. Another mistake the hospital made was that they did not conduct a diagnostic workup to be sure that co-occurring disorder requiring acute intervention were not missed. (Stewart, 2017). In any case, the ramification of undiagnosed, untreated, or undertreated alcohol dependence can lead to higher likelihood of becoming homeless, confine, sick, suicide, and early death. Individuals who suffer from alcohol dependence are best served through integrated treatment.
When looking at statistics related to drug abuse and addiction treatment, one hopes to see meaningful decreases on a year to year basis. As reported by the Community Epidemiology Work Group, June 2014, that is simply not the case in this region of Colorado (CO). In fact, the report shows that admissions into detox and drug and alcohol treatment centers remained amazingly consistent between 2005 and 2013. The low was 12,253 admissions in 2005 to a high of 14,306 in 2012. Until these number start dropping, they demand continued scrutiny and concern.
Experiencing poverty or homelessness presents unique barriers to all aspects of life, one being healthcare. Many of these individuals have heightened exposure to communicable diseases and parasites on a daily basis (Zlotnick et al., 2013). Healthcare needs within the population range from diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obstructive lung disease, HIV, cancer, liver or kidney disease, and chronic pain (Baggett et al., 2010). Another common occurrence within the population is substance abuse, mental illness, vision impairments, dental concerns and an increased mortality rate (Hwang et al., 2010).
What is behavioral healthcare? In Psychology Today (online) Master of Public Health Elana Premack Sandler observes that behavioral health is promoting the well-being of clients “by preventing or intervening in mental illness”, substance abuse, as well as it focuses on decreasing the stigma that surrounds the term mental health (2009). Behavioral health includes: finding what works best for a patient, include that patient in the plan of care, and be attentive in improving the behavior that is causing issues or habits. Hippocrates was one of the first to treated people with mental illnesses aside from religious beliefs or the stigmata of sorcery (Unite for Sight, n.d.). Behavioral health professionals and services have come a long way from the time of Hippocrates.
Recognizing that one has a problem is the first step in treatment. For most alcoholics, the next step is detoxification, which is the medical management of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Patients undergoing detox (detoxification), which usually requires less than a week, usually stay in a specialized residential treatment facility or a special unit of a hospital.
Numerous treatment methods are constantly being discovered and developed to help start alcohol and drug abusers down the path of sobriety. There are many different methods available to help addicts who need help or to help addicts who want help. Our system is diverting from a punishing approach to a treatment approach. This paper will examine the most popular inpatient and outpatient options available throughout the nation. The types of addicts who normally file into these types of settings will be exam e, and The Way of Life. May I do your will always” (Alcoholics). These prayers are recited by the addict and must be experienced as well as nurtured to successfully break your addiction and never go back once you have completed the twelve