Addiction Treatment Service Line Added at SLV Health

San Luis Valley Health (SLVH) is rolling out a new service line to treat patients with addictions. Using Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) includes the use of medicines such as Vivitrol, suboxone, and other therapies, and has been widely researched and accepted in many medical settings. Under the leadership of Carmelo Hernandez, MD and Chief Medical Officer at SLVH, providers who were interested in offering this service could volunteer to receive the required education in order to become certified providers. An additional benefit to offering MAT was the expansion of the care coordination team at SLV Health along with additional resources for patients needing to access MAT. Besides the medication, it is extremely valuable to offer support staff and resources to address patients’ needs as a whole, as many of these patients also have comorbidities such as depression, socioeconomic obstacles, or other barriers to a healthy lifestyle. SLV Health recognizes that substance use disorder is truly a disease and should be treated as such, instead of the classic misconception that users are just making bad choices. Providers across the system are trained in the most up-to-date techniques and are ready to serve the community’s addiction needs.”  Please visit the web page for more details at https://www.sanluisvalleyhealth.org/services/addiction-treatment/.