Bring It Home – Please Spread The Word

The Opioid Epidemic has clearly gained national attention. Recent legislation allows qualified doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat 275 patients with Substance Use Disorder per year with Suboxone or buprenorphine, instead of the previously allowed 100 patients per year. Additionally, the number of methadone clinics continues to increase. As many of our patients and their families have found, using buprenorphine or methadone to help a loved one off opiates (i.e. maintenance treatment) is a fairly accessible Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) option. With the prevalence of methadone clinics, and the ability of doctors to easily and quickly prescribe Suboxone in an office setting, this is a convenient treatment for many people and can help save precious lives. However, patients seeking treatment at the Coleman Institute have come to understand that rather than using a legal opioid to treat an opioid addiction, their preference is to choose Naltrexone, a non-addictive blocker of opioids. As our patients and their families have realized, getting a person onto Naltrexone, whether in an implant, injection (Vivitrol) or oral form, can be challenging. In order to use Naltrexone, the body must be free of all opiates. Dr. Coleman and the Coleman Institute staff have worked for over 20 years to create the safest, most convenient and cost effective way to get people through an opiate detox and onto Naltrexone. We are asking for your help in making this option more accessible to more people. Our patients travel from all around the US and other countries in order to get off opiates and start Naltrexone therapy. You may be one of our committed patients, friends, or family members who have made elaborate plans for childcare, taking time off work, engaging help from family and friends, and paying for transportation and lodging because this option is not available at a facility near you. We believe as more medical professionals understand the scope of the addiction problem and learn about Naltrexone as an abstinence treatment alternative to buprenorphine, Suboxone and methadone, they will be motivated to help their patients achieve sobriety through the same methods that we use at the Coleman Institute. Our goal is to make this abstinence option available to more people, minimizing the hassle factors and costs. In order to do this, we are asking our patients and their support team to reach out to doctors in their local communities who may be interested in learning how to bring the Coleman Institute's outpatient detox program closer to home. If you know a doctor in your area who would be interested in learning about our rapid outpatient opioid detox program, please contact Andrew Blake, our Chief Operating Officer at andrew@thecolemaninstitute.com or 804-353-1230 ext 312. Thank you for considering this. The more people that are in recovery, the more resources will be available to you and your loved one. Joan R. Shepherd, FNP