Posted by Terrence Dalton
The Rotary Club of Akron had the pleasure of listening to Tiffanie Ferguson who serves as the Clinical Director at CHC Addiction Services at our Tuesday, May 11th weekly meeting. 
 
 
CHC Addiction Services is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation. They are an addiction services agency providing comprehensive prevention, treatment and recovery services for addictive and compulsive behaviors and disorders.
Tiffanie has been an employee of CHC Addiction Services for the past 17 years.  She is dually licensed as a clinical counselor and chemical dependency counselor supervisor. Previous to her role as Clinical Director she was instrumental in the development of CHC’s adolescent substance abuse treatment and detox programs at the height of the opiate epidemic. Tiffanie speaks and trains regularly to clinicians and the public at large about the best practices in addiction treatment, trauma-informed care, co-occurring disorders and much more.
 
CHC Addiction Services’ mission is to treat, inspire, support, and empower individuals and families impacted by the disease of addiction. CHC Addiction Services has made it their lives’ work to help those on the road to recovery, regardless of social or economic factors. They believe that substance use disorders are progressive, fatal illnesses that may require several treatment strategies for successful recovery. CHC provides individual, family and group counseling, medically-assisted treatment (MAT), residential treatment and much more.
 
CHC Addiction Services believes that total well-being is a key factor to successful recovery. Therefore, they provide quality medical treatment, housing, case management and child- care services in addition to their counseling and therapy services.
 
Not unlike many other agencies providing substance abuse and/or mental health services, CHC Addiction Services has seen an increase in substance abuse problems during the pandemic.  In addition, there has been an increase in the use of Fentanyl or other drugs with Fentanyl mixed in with them.  Some of this increase has been attributed to social isolation and a decrease in social support/recovery groups.  CHC has used teletherapy during much of the pandemic and now provide a combination of virtual services as well as face-to-face services following CDC guidelines.
 
CHC provides a variety of treatment programs.  Some of these include:
  • Adult Counseling Program:  The Adult Counseling Program at CHC Addiction Services is designed to provide education, treatment and support for individuals with addiction ranging in severity from mild to severe.  Since co-occurring disorders are common among those with substance use problems, CHC Addiction Services employs Master’s level clinicians who are well-equipped to teach patients effective recovery skills to improve the quality of their lives.  
     
  • Adolescent Treatment:  CHC Addiction Services offers many options for adolescent treatment.  This program centers around long-term abstinence.  Programs include Community-based treatment, Outpatient Counseling, and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).
     
  • Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): CHC Addiction Service’s Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is designed to promote the recovery process through group and individual counseling, case management, vocational development, community support groups and re-integration programming. The Five Week program is a total of 15 group sessions. Patients who complete the IOP program are recommended to continue with aftercare programming as well as ongoing individual counseling sessions.
     
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment:  CHC has a wide range of treatment options, including programming for all three FDA-approved medication assisted treatment medications. CHC’s first Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) began in 1974. Patients in medication assisted treatment (MAT) receive both medication and counseling services as a part of their treatment. MAT is a highly effective, evidence-based practice in which medication stabilizes brain function and allows the patient to return to optimal functioning.
    • Methadone is the most widely used and studied treatment for opiate addiction. It has been identified as the most effective treatment. It is a long-lasting, synthetic narcotic that acts in a way similar to morphine or other narcotics. When used in proper doses, methadone does not create euphoria, sedation or analgesic effects. It is used as a maintenance treatment to stop cravings.
       
  • Women’s Recovery Program:  CHC Addiction Services has been providing specialized women’s programming since 1990. The program focuses on gender-specific, trauma-informed care and seeks to eliminate barriers to recovery that often affect women, including lack of transportation and child-care. The program also highlights the stigma of substance use in an effort to treat both substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders.
     
  • Residential Programs: Residential treatment is the highest level of care for substance use disorders. The need for residential treatment is determined after looking at an assessment of needs. Staff works with potential patients to complete the intake process and insurance companies to complete the necessary steps for entering treatment.
CHC Addiction Services accepts a variety of insurance programs.For individuals with no insurance, services are available through funding provided by the Summit County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADM) Board.
 
For additional information on the programs listed above, I encourage readers to visit CHC Addiction Services at chcaddiction.org. 
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