With Arkansas, and the nation, in the grips of an opioid epidemic, Community Health Centers are meeting the challenge by offering medication assisted treatment (or MAT for short) to those who wish to free themselves from the shackles of addiction.
Community Health Centers (CHCs) in recent weeks have embarked on a MAT program and hope to expand it to serving hundreds of patients within two years. MAT combines medication (to help wean patients off dangerous opioids) with addiction counseling and therapy (to help patients make the necessary lifestyle changes to keep them from relapse).
“MAT is an integrated treatment model that really fits what Community Health Centers are all about,” said Byron Montgomery, director of clinical operations for Mainline Health Systems. “We have everything under one roof. Patients don’t have to worry about being stigmatized because as far as anyone will know, they could be coming to our clinic to treat a common cold. And, we’re going to see them regardless of whether they can pay or not. But they have to be totally engaged and completely dedicated to beating addiction.”
CHCs are uniquely positioned to provide MAT in Arkansas. To successfully complete the program, multiple visits for an extended period of time are required. These can be costly, especially if a patient doesn’t have insurance. And, many insurance plans limit the number of counseling visits. In part because of the financial obstacles, MAT has been slow to grow in Arkansas.
But CHCs are filling that gap. For those in financial need, they provide care on a sliding fee scale based on income.
Area CHCs include Community Clinic (Fayetteville/Northwest AR), Mainline Health Systems (Dermott, Monticello, Star City/Southeast AR), and MidDelta Health Systems (Clarendon/AR Delta).