Check out our 2015 Annual Report

Sustaining a Commitment to Recovery

Our 2015 Annual Report is now online! The report includes information on our treatment and housing services, an overview of our health and wellness programs, and a look at the key events of 2015. Read the report here and let us know what you think.

The year ahead

Experts' Contributions: “Hopes and Fears” 2016

Leaders in the field of drug treatment share their predictions for 2016 and the challenges ahead. See Dr. Provet’s below. Click here for the full report.

         

The escalating opioid epidemic among middle-class Americans drew unusual attention last year to our field across a wide public sphere of elected officials, leaders of medical and scientific communities, members of criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, and the mainstream media.

While this attention is welcome, we need to make sure the urgent need for treatment is reflected in the stabilization and expansion of services for vulnerable populations. As states (including New York, with high-need, disadvantaged populations) look to contain costs under Medicaid managed care, we must work hard to ensure that the federal block grant is maintained, the IMD [Institutions for Mental Diseases] exclusion is eliminated and parity under the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is fully enforced. Without these essential provisions built in to federal and state budgets and policies, nonprofit organizations that provide the bulk of safety net services will find it harder and harder to meet the increased demands for care.

At Odyssey House, we have been preparing for the impact of managed care for quite some time and have established new systems to both contain costs and streamline care. These include: electronic health record keeping and linkages with hospital and other community-based providers; evidence-based practices and medication-assisted treatment; and extended outpatient and housing support services.

My hope as we look to 2016 is that we will not only continue to provide quality care for disadvantaged substance abusers (who often require intensive residential services in order to have a chance at achieving and maintaining a functional life), but that their needs will be reflected in the ongoing national debate on how best to treat addiction and its accompanying social ills.

Peter Provet, Ph.D.

President & Chief Executive Officer

Our Summer 2015 newsletter is now available!

The Summer 2015 edition of Odyssey House News is now available online. Read about our renovated medical clinic, latest art show, new services and more. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments or on our Facebook wall. Click here to read it (pdf). If you'd like to receive a copy in the mail, please email your contact information to info(at)odysseyhouseinc.org.

And don't forget to join us on September 19th for our 10th Annual Run for Your Life celebration!

Odyssey House wins award to provide recovery services for older adults

Odyssey House has received a $445,000 grant from the New York State Department of Health to implement a peer mentoring track for older adults (Serving Older Adults Recovery System, or SOARS), based out of the Bronx-based Outpatient Services program. SOARS will allow Odyssey House to provide case management services and improve access to community-based recovery resources for up to 90 ElderCare clients over 14-16 months. The grant was awarded through the New York State Balancing Incentive Program (BIP) Innovation Fund.

There are growing demands for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for older adults.  Emergency Department (ED) admissions for illicit drugs and alcohol have been steadily increasing for the last several years among this population. From 2004 to 2010, the number of ED visits for drug use and misuse has grown 187% for adults ages 55-64 and 104% for those ages 65 and older. These data, coupled with national surveys that show older adults suffer the most from depression, isolation, and chronic medical conditions, point to the need for a program which addresses SUD recovery in the context of overall physical and mental health.

The SOARS program will deliver a continuum of support services for older adults utilizing both intensive case management and peer-based recovery coaching. Odyssey House Case Managers will work one-on-one with clients as they transition out of residential treatment, connecting them to community-based services to help them remain out of institutional care. In addition, clients will be paired with a volunteer Recovery Coach, who will serve as a peer mentor to assist in identifying and engaging in community-based recovery supports. The SOARS program will strengthen the continuum of care, complementing the current ElderCare substance use disorder (SUD) treatment program operated by Odyssey House and serving to expand Odyssey House Recovery Oriented Care System (OH ROCS).

Dr. Peter Provet, president of Odyssey House, said, “We're pleased to be able to build on the success of our OH ROCS program and extend our peer-based recovery services to older adults where they need them most – in their own community.” 

Read the full press release (pdf) to learn more about this innovative program.

Integrated health care for older adults

A $250,000 grant from the New York State Office of Mental Health will establish behavioral health care services for older adults through an internal partnership with our Article 28 clinic. The primary project objectives are to screen and assess older adult patients for mental health issues and substance use disorders using validated tools; implement patient navigation and care management services in the medical clinic; and improve mental and behavioral health in older adults. Odyssey House will be able to provide services to 80 older adults, ages 55 or older, with mental health and/or substance use disorders per year, for a total of 240 older adults over three years.

The goal of the program is to seamlessly integrate behavioral health care with physical health care for older adults through care management, patient navigation and treatment planning.  To that end, Odyssey House will hire a geriatric social worker, to be located at the Article 28 clinic, who will meet with older patients to discuss (as well as screen and assess for) unaddressed behavioral health care needs, which often take a toll on physical health. Together, the geriatric social worker and patients will work to develop a treatment plan outlining behavioral and physical health care goals and needs. 

Odyssey House is one of ten agencies that were awarded service demonstration grants authorized by the Geriatric Mental Health Act. These three-year grants will provide $4.1 million to the nonprofit providers and focus on health integration. Because previous projects demonstrated that collaborative partnership models of integrated health care increased the probability of creating and sustaining effective programs, applicants were required to engage in at least one formal internal or external agency partnership in order to assure the on-site provision of integrated services.