Drug abuse in the elderly

In his letter in Saturday's New York Times, Odyssey House President Dr. Peter Provet writes that the number of those who fit the criteria for substance abuse is expected to double in the next five years.

The people included in " More Older Adults Are Struggling With Substance Abuse" (Business Day, Oct. 4) are to be commended for coming forward to speak about a growing problem that affects the well-being of millions of Americans.

For too long, addiction has been dismissed as a moral failing, and sufferers have been blamed, shunned and arrested. The stigma of addiction is such that many older people whose lives have unraveled because of alcohol and/or drug abuse do not get the help they need until a crisis alerts caregivers to the urgency of the situation.

For the lucky few with access to private insurance or resources to pay for treatment, the prognosis is positive, and the long-term health, economic and family struggles can be reversed. But this is not the case for the overwhelming majority of older adults, and the situation is likely to get worse, as the number of those who fit the criteria for substance abuse is expected to double over the next five years.

Public treatment programs that offer a range of low-cost residential, outpatient and peer recovery services are a necessary and wise investment.

PETER PROVET

President and Chief Executive

Odyssey House

In the news: Recovery services for older adults

News 12 Bronx interviewed Mary Callahan, program director of Odyssey House Outpatient Services, as well as clients about the $445,000 grant we just received from the NYS Department of Health. The grant will allow us to implement a peer mentoring track for older adults (Serving Older Adults Recovery System, or SOARS), providing case management services and improving access to community-based recovery resources for up to 90 ElderCare clients over 14-16 months. 

Check out the press release to learn more about this innovative program (pdf).

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.

Download our new brochures!

Learn more about Odyssey House's programs and services in our new brochures. You can download them from our Admissions page or email us at admissions@odysseyhouseinc.org to order a hard copy set. Give us your feedback in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Senior drug abuse continues to rise

Odyssey House President Dr. Peter Provet and older clients in treatment in our ElderCare program were interviewed by the Associated Press for a national story on the dramatic rise in drug and alcohol abuse among older Americans. Between 1992 and 2008, treatment admissions for adults 50 and older more than doubled in the U.S., a number that is expected to grow as the baby boom generation ages. Click here to read the full article on our website and view the accompanying video below.

Odyssey House opened the ElderCare program in 1997 to specifically treat substance abusers age 55 and over. The first of its kind, the program has helped more than 200 seniors successfully re-integrate into their communities and regain productive, drug-free lives. Visit our website for more information on our ElderCare program.

Benoit Denizet-Lewis visits Odyssey House ElderCare Program

Benoit Denizet-Lewis, right, with Jon Roberts, Senior Counselor

at Odyssey House, and Janice.

Benoit Denizet-Lewis, author of America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, spent the afternoon at Odyssey House reading from and discussing his new book with a large group of ElderCare clients. America Anonymous is about eight men and women struggling to recover from addictions ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to overeating and compulsive gambling. For nearly three years, Denizet-Lewis immersed himself in their lives as they battled their addictions on the road to recovery. One of the profiles in the book is that of Janice, a former Odyssey House ElderCare client.