SATURDAY, SEPT. 29, 2018 • KOKOMO TRIBUNE
FROM STAFF REPORTS
F
rom new providers to a
cardiac catherization lab to
room service for patients,
Community Howard Re-
gional Health has contin-
ued to grow.
“Throughout the past year
we continued to invest in our
facilities and to bring in new
resources and physicians to
further our mission of improv-
ing the health and well-being
of this community,” Joe
Hooper, president of Commu-
nity Howard Regional Health,
said in a press release.
“A central part of that mis-
sion centers on offering a com-
prehensive array of high qual-
ity services right here in
Kokomo, all while maintaining
an exceptional experience for
our patients, visitors and em-
ployees.
“I believe that as a part of
that commitment we have a
responsibility to identify future
health needs in this commu-
nity and to put ourselves in a
position to meet those needs,
whether that is through new
facilities and added services or
through progressive initiatives
to empower patients and fami-
lies to better manage their
health,” Hooper added.
“Those elements are present
in the work we’ve done this
past year and in the work we
plan to accomplish in the years
to come.”
Here are a few of the hospi-
tal’s recent accomplishments:
NEW PROVIDERS
One of the biggest invest-
ments Community Health Net-
work and Community Howard
have made in this community
in the past years is to bring in
new physicians to expand the
availability and breadth of care
that’s available.
Since July 2017 alone, the
hospital has brought in nine
new full-time primary or spe-
cialty care physicians in
Kokomo and two more are
scheduled to begin before the
end of the year.
The addition of orthopedic
specialists in fields related to
spine surgery, interventional
pain management, sports med-
icine and specialty joint re-
placement has created a com-
prehensive orthopedic program
at Community Howard and
will allow more patients to re-
ceive care here in Kokomo in-
stead of having to travel to In-
dianapolis.
The specialties of other phy-
sicians added in the past year
include OBGYN, gastroenterol-
ogy, pediatrics, endocrinology,
family medicine and pulmonol-
ogy. An additional eight physi-
cians were added in Kokomo
between 2015 to 2016.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Through an assessment of
the needs of the community, a
strategy was developed this
year to build on Community
Howard’s offering of outpa-
tient behavioral health ser-
vices.
A campaign was created to
hire more than a dozen addi-
tional staff with the goal of
expanding services, including
within local schools.
“We believe greater access
to mental health services, out-
patient counseling and addic-
tion services consist of some
of the greatest needs in this
community and we are com-
mitted to continuing to evalu-
ate strategies to better meet
those needs,” according to the
press release.
MYCHART BEDSIDE
The hospital is nearing the
completion of a project that be-
gan this year to leverage tech-
nology to better engage and
empower patients during their
hospital stay.
A tablet-based function
called MyChart Bedside is set
to launch in the coming weeks.
Through an iPad given to
each patient for the duration of
their hospital stay, the patient
or his or her caretaker will be
able to access test results, com-
municate with members of the
hospital care team, receive ed-
ucation about their condition
and treatment plan, see the
schedule for future tests and
enjoy traditional entertainment
features we have all become
accustomed to having at home.
CARDIAC
CATHETERIZATION LAB
This summer Community
Howard wrapped up the re-
placement and renovation of a
new cardiac catheterization
lab. Coming on the heels of the
replacement of a separate lab
in 2017, Community Howard
now has two state-of-the-art
labs where a cardiologist-led
team of cardiovascular experts
is available to perform emer-
gency, interventional proce-
dures 24/7.
The data clearly reveals that
people having a heart attack
should receive interventional
care as quickly as possible. The
replacement of the second lab
expands the hospital’s ability,
as the sole provider of this
level of cardiovascular service
in Kokomo, to meet the com-
munity’s needs.
PRIVATE ROOMS
Another investment Commu-
nity Howard made this past
year to enhance the experience
and privacy of its patients was
the significant renovation of
the third-floor Progressive Care
Unit.
The unit was transformed
from double- to single-occu-
pancy rooms to afford greater
patient privacy and a better ex-
perience.
All inpatient rooms at Com-
munity Howard Regional
Health are now single-occu-
pancy rooms.
CAFETERIA
RENOVATIONS/
ROOM SERVICE
Over the past year significant
work was also done to trans-
form the way meals are deliv-
ered to patients.
Through the new, more con-
sumer friendly room service
model, patients are able to or-
der their choice of items off of
a menu at the time that they
choose.
Work is also set to begin in
the coming weeks to com-
pletely renovate the hospital
cafeteria used by employees,
families and guests. The new,
modern cafeteria will also fea-
ture a greater variety of daily
food choices.
NEW PHARMACY
Construction is underway on
a new pharmacy location
within the hospital.
The new pharmacy will en-
sure Community Howard is set
up to meet changing regula-
tions and will ensure hospital
pharmacists have the space
and resources needed to pre-
pare patients’ medications.
NEW AMBULANCE
Community Howard made
the investment this year to re-
place one of its fleet of ambu-
lances. The new ambulance
will help to maintain a reliable,
modern EMS service for the
community.
For more information about
Community Howard Regional
Health, visit
.
com/howard.
COMMUNITY HOWARD ENHANCES PATIENT EXPERIENCE
HOSPITAL ALSO EXPANDS ACCESS TO CARE
HEALTH
SPOTLIGHT
BY GEORGE MYERS
KOKOMO TRIBUNE
“
W
e can’t treat the
dead.”
That’s what Billie
Hadley, whose own
son survived an over-
dose at age 18, tells those who
question her approach to addic-
tion recovery, one focused on
the sometimes controversial
method of medication-assisted
treatment.
Hadley is the clinical office
manager of the Center for Opi-
ate Recovery (CORE) in
Kokomo at 2908 S. Reed Road,
which opened in April.
It specializes in medications
like Suboxone and Vivitrol to
treat patients recovering from
opiate addiction.
A pervasive skepticism sur-
rounds medication-assisted
treatment, or MAT, Hadley ad-
mits, but she says those “myths”
do nothing but reinforce a
stigma that misrepresents opiate
addiction and becomes a barrier
to effective treatment.
MAT has for years been at the
center of the debate over
whether to treat addiction as a
medical condition instead of a
mental or moral failure, and the
rethinking of abstinence-only
techniques.
Addiction is a disease, say
most medical professionals, and
should be treated as such. The
National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) said MAT ap-
proaches “are prescribed or ad-
ministered under monitored,
controlled conditions and are
safe and effective for treating
opioid addiction when used as
directed.”
The NIDA found in a 2015
long-term study that medica-
tion-assisted treatment was suc-
cessful in 61 percent of patients.
Hadley’s son, in fact, has found
success with Suboxone.
And there’s a need for in-
creased treatment, said Hadley,
in a county that saw a record 44
overdose deaths in 2017.
Howard County’s recent history
is also checkered with opioid
drug abuse, driven largely by
the past presence but continued
influence of a Kokomo Wagoner
Medical Clinic location.
The clinic – another was lo-
cated in Burlington – was raided
in 2013 by Kokomo police and
the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency. It contributed to the
deaths of more than two dozen
people caused by illegal pre-
scribing practices.
“Our typical patient is in their
20s to 40s and initially started
taking prescription opiates from
a doctor after an injury or sur-
gery,” said Hadley in an email.
“Their pain persisted, so addi-
tional medication was pre-
scribed, typically a higher dose
and for a longer duration.
“Eventually, the patient does
not have enough prescribed
pain medicine and they also re-
alize if they stop taking the
medicine they have severe with-
drawals.”
Those budding addicts, unable
to operate as normal, then find
medications from other sources
before escalating to illegal pur-
chases.
“At this point, life’s primary fo-
cus is simply to find opiates, not
to get high, but to avoid severe
withdrawal,” said Hadley, who
helps run a similar facility in
Greenwood which treats 380 pa-
tients, many from the Kokomo
area. She said the company
hopes to soon expand to South-
ern Indiana.
“For some patients the cost of
buying pills becomes so prohibi-
tive that they turn to heroin, a
much cheaper and readily avail-
able alternative.”
Hadley said CORE’s typical
patient doesn’t represent the ste-
reotype of a drug addict, but in-
stead is “someone you probably
know, a friend, a neighbor, a
boss or employee” – someone
impacted by an injury or medi-
cal procedure.
CORE, which does not pro-
vide methadone, treats those pa-
tients with take-home medica-
tions containing buprenorphine
(Suboxone) or naltrexone (Vivit-
rol) and partners the treatment
with psychosocial therapy from
addiction counselors.
Suboxone and related medica-
tions take away withdrawal
symptoms and cravings associ-
ated with opiate dependency
without creating the “euphoric
sensation” of other opiates, said
Hadley. They can also limit the
effect of other opiates used si-
multaneously.
Still, some criticisms say that
taking Suboxone is nothing
more than trading one drug or
addiction for another; Hadley
said she encounters people who
believe MAT treatment is “the
devil.”
“The truth is that a patient in
a treatment program taking
their prescribed Suboxone is not
any more ‘addicted’ to their Sub-
oxone than a diabetic patient is
‘addicted’ to their insulin,” she
explained.
Meanwhile, Vivitrol is consid-
ered a “pure opiate blocker” pre-
venting opiates from having any
effect. It helps with cravings but
does not relieve withdrawal
symptoms, she said. Vivitrol
treatment is considered harder to
start because it requires an initial
detox period, unlike Suboxone.
“Although a slightly lower suc-
cess rate, it is usually recom-
mended for highly motivated
patients who do not want to be
dependent on a medicine, or pa-
tients that have been off all opi-
ates for a period of time.”
Vivitrol, however, has been
promoted by people in local
law enforcement and health-
care circles.
“If we can just get one person
back on track where they’re not
using drugs anymore, that
makes this program worth it for
us,” said Susan Rice, chief pro-
bation officer with the Miami
County Probation Department,
after the county secured grant
funding to assist opioid-addicted
clients in obtaining medica-
tion-assisted treatment through
Community Howard Regional
Health in Kokomo.
“People need this medication.
It’s certainly not a cure-all. They
still have to make the choice not
to use, but this makes it easier
for them to make that choice.”
Hadley said MAT is more
likely to create large-scale
change than clinics that provide
short-term addiction care before
putting someone back on the
street.
“When they’re dead, there’s
nothing we can do,” said Hadley.
“But when we have them on a
medication such as Suboxone or
Vivitrol or one of those other
products, they actually get their
lives back and they function.
“And then we can incorporate
the counseling and the psycho-
logical evaluation to find out
what got them to the place
they’re at and why they ended
up where they’re at. … But
when they’re dead, we can’t.”
MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT FACILITY OPENS LOCALLY
NEW CAFETERIA:
Work is set to begin in the coming weeks to
completely renovate the hospital cafeteria used by employees,
families and guests. The new, modern cafeteria will also feature a
greater variety of daily food choices.
(Photos provided)
NEW LAB:
This summer Community Howard wrapped up the
replacement and renovation of a new cardiac catheterization lab.
THE CORE CREW:
The Center for Opiate Recovery (CORE)
specializes in medications to treat opioid addicts. Shown here are
nurse practitioner Cara Berg Raunick, Dr. Adam Lenet and office
manager Billie Hadley.
(Tim Bath | Kokomo Tribune)
