At Frontline Foundations, the mission is simple: be a hopeful presence for young men and women suffering from substance abuse. Frontline strives to provide effective treatments and an immediate and strong recovery support system to those who are struggling.
Creative programs Frontline offers to individuals include art and music recovery based programs, peer group sessions, and individual treatment plans facilitated by program coordinators and professional substance abuse counselors.
A new treatment called Vivitrol was recently introduced and cleared for usage to prevent opioid and alcohol receptors in the body. The treatment began gaining interest in the area back in 2017 when the push to fight the opioid epidemic gained momentum. A single treatment of Vivitrol, a non-additive, once-monthly injectable medication, lasts for about 28 days. When used as part of a treatment plan that includes counseling, Vivitrol can even help prevent relapse to opioid dependence after detox.
In order to promote and distribute the Vivitrol treatment on top of additional addiction counseling services, NorthShore Health Centers began collaborating with Frontline Foundations in 2017.
“Frontline approached NorthShore because we saw a need for this with our clients and knew that our company shared many of the same values and principles that they did. The partnership made sense on a lot of different levels such as accepting clients regardless of their ability to pay,” said Rachel Mullins, Director of Practice Improvements at NorthShore Health Centers. “There aren’t many programs in the area for patients that offer a well-rounded substance abuse treatment program. For us to be able to offer this type of assistance to the community we see as a huge benefit.”
The Vivitrol program is a collaborative program that interweaves medication, substance abuse counseling, and treatment for medication-assisted treatment (MAT). The team at NorthShore have found that without the counseling that Frontline provides, patients would not be as successful with the medication-assisted treatment. Because of this, patients must engage in counseling through Frontline to be able to participate in the Vivitrol program. Frontline also assists patients who do not need or perhaps need different medication assistance for their treatment.
“Combining modern medicine with counseling provides clients that are fighting with opioids a much better chance, as it helps them focus on gaining important coping skills and work through possible underlying issues such as mental health issues,” Mullins said.
The Vivitrol treatment and collaboration between Frontline Foundations and NorthShore Health Centers has been successful in the community in many ways.
“Individuals were able to be linked with potential lifesaving medications because of this program. However, the success transcends this and can be seen in many other areas, such as shared referral sources outside of those needing Vivitrol,” Mullins said. “This treatment is only one piece in a larger part of the substance abuse puzzle,” Mullins continued. “There have been referrals from NorthShore to Frontline for individuals that struggled with other substances outside of opioids and vice-versa, and there have been referrals from Frontline to NorthShore for a variety of needs such as enrolling in health insurance, health checkups, and even helping navigate clients with existing health issues such as HIV and hepatitis.”
Frontline counselors will now provide services at NorthShore located at 2490 Central Avenue in Lake Station. Patients are also able to see a NorthShore provider at the Portage and Chesterton locations to receive the Vivitrol treatment and counseling services at the Chesterton and La Porte Frontline Foundations locations.
To get started with the Vivitrol program, patients can be referred by both Frontline Foundations and NorthShore Health Centers if either organization believes the proposed patient could benefit from the services offered. For those who aren’t patients at NorthShore, meeting with a provider from the organization is the first step in order to be referred to Frontline for counseling services. For more information, visit www.frontlinefoundations.com or www.northshorehealth.org.
