More than $1.1 million in funding to support 250 additional treatment slots in CNY
The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services recently announced the opening of a new opioid treatment program (OTP) in Syracuse, with the capacity to provide medication-assisted treatment for up to 250 people with an opioid addiction. The new program, opening today at 329 North Salina Street, will be run by Syracuse Behavioral Health (SBH) and co-located with their Integrated Outpatient Clinic, which provides a variety of additional services.
“Medication-assisted treatment is vital for so many people who suffer from substance use disorder,” said New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez. “The additional treatment slots and services Syracuse Behavioral Health will offer at this center are an important step in responding to the opioid crisis in Onondaga County and the whole Central New York region.”
“In my travels across New York state, I have seen first-hand the serious effect that addiction has on families, friends and neighbors of those addicted. Governor Cuomo is leading the charge to combat the heroin and opioid crisis affecting our families by ensuring immediate access to the supports and services needed for a successful recovery,” said Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, co-chair of the Governor’s task force to combat heroin and opioid addiction. “The new treatment opportunities will provide even more people with the critical services they need to overcome their addiction.”
“We are grateful for the leadership shown by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, the New York State Legislature and OASAS Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez Sanchez, in securing the funding needed to add an OTP clinic to our Outpatient Behavioral Health Center of Excellence,” said Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare President and CEO Jeremy Klemanski. “Thanks to this funding, we have been able to expand our capacity and provide substance disorder treatment to even more people.”
Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare was one of eight addiction treatment providers in seven counties across New York State selected to receive funding as part of the Governor’s aggressive efforts to combat opioid misuse and heroin use, and the disease of addiction.
The OTP Clinic is housed in the same facility as Syracuse Behavioral Health’s Integrated Outpatient Clinic enabling access to mental health and housing services. The clinic will provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) including methadone, buprenorphine and vivitrol, to treat opioid dependence. Counseling, recovery support services and other patient-centered services will also be available.
The OTP clinic will be open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, as early as 6 a.m., enabling people to receive treatment dosages before going to work or other appointments.
Medication-assisted treatment is the use of medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a whole-patient approach to the treatment of substance use disorders. Research shows that when treating substance-use disorders, a combination of medication and behavioral therapies is most successful. MAT is clinically driven with a focus on individualized patient care.
Funding for these new treatment services was provided as part of an $8.1 million Rapid Treatment Expansion Capital Funding Grant, which Governor Cuomo announced in January. The funding is intended to support construction needs and operational assistance for treatment programming and the development of up to 80 new residential treatment beds and 600 new opioid treatment slots across the state.
Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare was awarded $1,164,808 for OTP facility renovations which included five dosing windows, several new exam rooms, a larger nursing station, and an expansion of the waiting room and reception area.
New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).
Available addiction treatment including crisis/detox, inpatient, community residence, or outpatient care can be found using this new and improved NYS OASAS Treatment Availability Dashboard at FindAddictionTreatment.ny.gov or through the Access Treatment page on the NYS OASAS website. Visit the #CombatAddiction website at oasas.ny.gov/CombatAddiction to learn more about how you can help to #CombatAddiction in your community.
Visit combatheroin.ny.gov for more information on addressing heroin and prescription opioid abuse, including a Kitchen Table Tool Kit to help start the conversation about the warning signs of addiction and where to get help. For tools to use in talking to a young person about preventing alcohol or drug use, visit talk2prevent.ny.gov/toolkit/conversation-starters.
