Leading the Fight vs. Native America's Painkillers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) December 21, 2011 -- Last month the Center for Disease Control called prescription painkiller addiction an epidemic in the country, identifying Oklahoma as leading the nation in both the addiction and related deaths. It is only fitting that the battle against such addiction in "Native America" be led by three tribal owned clinics, Absentee Shawnee Counseling Services, OKC; Keetoowah Cherokee Treatment Services, Tulsa; and Quapaw Counseling Services, Miami.

Generally speaking, prescription painkillers are opiates. There are 14 Opioid Treatment Programs in Oklahoma certified by the Federal agency SAMHSA CSAT, including the Veterans Hospital in Oklahoma City. The importance of these OTPs revolves around SAMHSA's findings that the Medication Assisted Treatment is 70-75% effective with opiate addiction, while traditional substance abuse treatment is 6-10% effective. This 8-9 times more effective treatment can often skip inpatient detox, avoiding the expense, time off from work and away from family, and the waiting list to get admitted.

Remarkable as it is that Native tribes own three of these best practice programs, one of them was selected by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to video for their agents and other providers to learn how these programs should be run. "All three programs were designed and set up in the same fashion, operating in the same manner. You will find the same level of excellence at all three clinics," asserted Dan Cross, Executive Director, Absentee Shawnee Counseling Services, OKC. "Tribes lead the assault against this epidemic in Native America," referring to the state of Oklahoma. All three tribal programs serve both Native and Non-Native adults and accept Medicaid.

"Natives have lead the way in holistic approaches to health and environmental concerns, not as a recent development, but from their ancient ways," noted Cross. "Whether it be herbal medicine that modern medical science has replicated pharmacologically, or holistic approaches to well-being that our best practices emulate, Native people have preceded modern technology," Cross observed. Now, it seems, Natives are leading the solution for this deadly wave of addiction sweeping over Oklahoma.

RESOURCES:

Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/rxbrief/

SAMHSA Treat Improvement Protocol 43 http://www.samhsa.gov/samhsanewsletter/volume_16_number_6/tip43.aspx

SAMHSA OTP Directory http://dpt2.samhsa.gov/treatment/directory.aspx

Absentee Shawnee Counseling Services http://ascs-okc.com/

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