Rhode Island Hospital marks opening of recovery center dedicated to helping patients overcome opioid addiction
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island Hospital and Lifespan leadership were joined today
by federal and state officials to mark the opening of the Lifespan Recovery Center.
The Rhode Island Hospital program will provide comprehensive outpatient treatment
for those seeking to overcome opioid addiction. The center officially opened June 16
with 250 patients already under the care of Lifespan physicians. The center can
treat up to 650 individuals.
«This new clinic will provide a single touchpoint to some of our most vulnerable
community members – those struggling with addiction,» said Rhode Island Hospital
President Margaret M. Van Bree, MHA, DrPH. «We are proud to offer this comprehensive
center of care to members of our community who are battling to get their lives back
on course.»
Van Bree, Lifespan President and CEO Timothy J. Babineau, MD , Lifespan Senior Vice
President of Psychiatry and Behavior Health Richard J. Goldberg, MD, MS, and
Lifespan board member and chairman of the board’s Behavioral Health Committee Steven
Pare were joined by Sen. Jack Reed, Rep. James Langevin, Gov. Gina Raimondo and R.I.
state senator Josh Miller, among others.
«Our nation is struggling with the growing opioid addiction epidemic and we are
working together to help save lives and help people reclaim their lives. We must
continue to invest in education, prevention, treatment, outreach, and recovery,»
said Senator Reed. «Lifespan’s new recovery center will help treat people suffering
from opioid addiction and connect them to the support and services they need, from
access to medical treatment to behavioral health services. Everyone’s story is
different, but the goal is to ensure that every individual who comes here receives
access to the full spectrum of quality care. The road to recovery is long and
difficult and it takes courage for people to seek treatment. We want to remove
barriers to treatment and help people navigate around the roadblocks from addiction
to recovery.»
Operating under the auspices of Rhode Island Hospital, the Lifespan Recovery Center
is in a unique position to provide continuity of care by coordinating and leveraging
the resources of its partner facilities, including inpatient and outpatient medical,
mental and behavioral health services; ongoing coordination with primary care
services; and liaison activity with emergency departments at Lifespan hospitals.
«In a small state like Rhode Island, the opioid crisis hits close to home because it
seems everybody knows a family that has had their lives upended by addiction,» said
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who authored the Comprehensive Addiction and
Recovery Act, sweeping legislation to combat opioid addiction that was signed into
law last year. «It was clear to me from walking the halls of the new Lifespan
Recovery Center that the medical and addiction professionals here will be an asset
for those on the long, noble road to recovery. I’m keeping up the fight to get more
federal resources to stem this public health crisis, and I am proud of the work
being done in Rhode Island to treat and prevent addiction.»
«The opioid epidemic is a national crisis that disproportionately affects the state
of Rhode Island,» Congressman Langevin said. «Thanks to the new Lifespan Recovery
Center, people struggling with addiction will have greater access to the care they
need, and families will benefit from educational programs that reinforce a community
support system. I look forward to seeing the impact of such a comprehensive
treatment program that will save lives and ensure more Rhode Islanders battling
opioid use disorders have a pathway to rehabilitation.»
The crisis of opioid addiction has been of mounting concern nationwide, and Rhode
Island is no exception, experiencing alarming numbers of overdoses and deaths, as
evidenced by Rhode Island Department of Health
tracking
Control and Prevention
«The majority of drug overdose deaths (more than six out of ten) involve an opioid.1
Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription
opioids
heroin
to 2015 more than half a million people died from drug overdoses. 91 Americans die
every day from an opioid overdose.» In 2016, according to the Department of Health,
336 individuals died of accidental drug-related overdose in Rhode Island.
«One of my goals as Governor is to reduce opioid overdose deaths by one-third within
three years. This new center will be a valuable tool in our fight against the most
urgent crisis facing our state,» Governor Raimondo said. «We’ve lost too many lives
to overdose. These are our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.
We must keep fighting.»
With hours offered Monday through Saturday, the center will provide
medication-assisted recovery; physician care for medical and psychiatric needs;
group and individual therapy; care coordination with the patient’s primary care
doctor; and ongoing recovery planning and care. More on the center can be found
here
About Rhode Island Hospital
Founded in 1863, Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I., is a private,
not-for-profit hospital and is the principal teaching hospital of The Warren Alpert
Medical School of Brown University. A major trauma center for southeastern New
England, the hospital is dedicated to being on the cutting edge of medicine and
research. It is home to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, the state’s only facility
dedicated to pediatric care. Last year, Rhode Island Hospital received more than $50
million in external research funding. For more information on Rhode Island Hospital,
visit www.rhodeislandhospital.org
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