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From Relapse to Recovery: How Innovative Care Transformed One Patient's Battle with Opioids
Last year, Palm Beach County opened the doors to an innovative public-private partnership...an emergency room at JFK Medical Center North called the Addiction Stabilization Center, or ASU. Patients across the county who overdose are transported to the ASU for evidence-based care. Many of the patients receive a warm handoff to the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's medication assisted treatment program located right on the hospital's campus. We'll talk to a patient who says the care she received from both of these programs brought her from relapse to recovery.
Transcription:
Robin Kish (Host): Families across the country and in South Florida still grieve over the thousands of lives lost before COVID, as a result of the opioid epidemic. For many victims, addiction began with prescription pain medication, which led to stronger street drugs and a downward spiral. Last year, Palm Beach County opened the doors to an innovative public-private partnership and emergency room at JFK Medical Center North called an Addiction Stabilization Center or ASU. Patients across the County who overdose are transported to the ASU for evidence-based care. Many of the patients receive a warm handoff to the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's Medication Assisted Treatment Program located right on the hospital's campus. We'll talk to a patient who says the care she received from both of these programs, brought her from relapse to recovery, on this edition of Here For Your Health.
Welcome to the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's podcast Here For Your Health. I'm your host, Robin Kish. Our guest today is Erica, a patient at the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's Medication Assisted Treatment Program, and a former patient at JFK Medical Center North's Addiction Stabilization Unit, a specialized ER, for patients who have overdosed. Erica, take us back in your journey. What has life been like for you over the past 10 years?
Erica (Guest): Um, so for the last decade, um, I've struggled with addiction. Um, at 18 years old, I was diagnosed with degenerative joint disease. And from the age of 23, I became addicted to opiates. By the time I was 32, I tried heroin for the first time. Um, because they didn't, doctors didn't prescribe pills like they used those. So, I turned street drugs, which was heroin. And I've been in and out of treatment several times, in and out of detox several times. Um, I could get together between six months to a year and um, that was about it. And then I would relapse. I've lost custody of all three of my children. Um, several vehicles, several apartments, all my belongings. I OD'd quite a few times in the last five years, I'd say. Yeah, it's been rough. It's been rough.
Host: You overdosed a few times?
Erica: I overdosed. Um, they had to bring me back with Narcan, so I'm not sure, like, I didn't really ask details when I woke up from it, I was still dazed and out of it. And my only thought when I woke up wasn't to find out how I was doing it was because I needed to find some more heroin. That was my first thought, waking up.
Host: In 2020, what brought you back to JFK Medical Center Norris Addiction Stabilization unit in Mangonia Park?
Erica: I was living on the street, sleeping by a dumpster, hadn't showered in two weeks and had gotten worse than it's ever gotten in my life. Um, I called 9-1-1 and they sent, um, an ambulance. These three really nice young gentlemen got me in the ambulance and asked me what I wanted them to do. I said, I need help. I had cellulitis really bad in my right hand. So, I asked them to take me to JFK North cause I heard of the ASU unit Addiction Stabilization unit. And I had tried going there two times previously, but something didn't click. So, I figured I would try it again. Um, they brought me to the hospital. I was admitted to the hospital for two days prior to, um, going through ASU for detox. I went over to the Health Care District after being discharged from the hospital.
One of the nurses there, nurse practitioners there had walked me back over, actually wheeled me back over in a wheelchair. I had went into precipitated withdrawal and we went back over to the JFK North and they brought me into the emergency room. And I had met Dr. Keehn briefly at one of the other times that I was there when I was in precipitated withdrawal. Um, and he just touched my heart. Like I knew he cared. Like I knew that he cared and he wanted better for me. Um, and for other people, of course, for addicts and I knew that his job meant the world to him to help.
Host: Now, Dr. Steven Keehn, he's the Medical Director of Emergency Services at JFK Medical Center North.
Erica: He talked to me and he made me make a promise to him to go to Healthcare District the next day to follow the MAT program. And I agreed with him. So, he admitted me. I got stabilized. I was released the next day. I was stabilized on Suboxone and I was released the next day to Healthcare District. And from there, Ingrid helped me to get a bed at Ted's place, which, and she set up the assessment, for an assessment for me, at Village for Change. And I went to that assessment and I got a bed there. I did six months of residential treatment. And then I was discharged. Um, I did two weeks in a halfway house on a voucher because of the Coronavirus, we were not able to work while in treatment and save money. So, they gave us a short term voucher. Um, I applied for the Lewis Center and I was accepted. Uh, it took about four months and then I went there for three months and now I'm in my own apartment with my daughter and I have little over 10 months clean.
Host: It's taken time and dedication to get there. I understand in the first year, since the ASU opened, you're one of about 300 ASU patients who received a warm handoff to the Healthcare District's Medication Assisted Treatment Program for immediate outpatient care. Now you've had to follow the protocol, show up for your appointments to receive the prescription Suboxone, to reduce dependence on opioids, work closely with a therapist and receive access to other medical and social services. If not for the ASU and the MAT programs, what you think would have happened to you?
Erica: I'm not sure. I don't think it would, uh, def I, I know that it wouldn't be the way it is now. Being on the medication helps me to know that if I was to pick up and use, more than likely I wouldn't make it, I would overdose and I would die this time. So, knowing that now that I'm already clean. It's, it's like a safety net. It's like, you know, that you can't use because you'll end up dying from an overdose. So, and it fights all the cravings. I have no cravings. Um, I suffer from a lot of mental health issues. So, I also take a lot of mental health medications. Um, but without the medication and the treatment, I don't think I'd be where I am today.
Host: So, it's an ongoing commitment. You seem very grateful to the medical staff who have coordinated your care.
Erica: Um, it's amazing. It saved my life between Dr. Keehn at JFK North and Dr. Rolan and Ingrid at Health Care District and the MAT program, I would have died. They saved my life. They've given their children back a mom.
Host: Erica, what is the best part of your recovery? What do you enjoy the most now?
Erica: What do I enjoy the most, um, my wake up every morning and I have that freedom from active addiction. My first thought isn't what do I have to do to get the drugs that I need to be okay today. I wake up and I'm, I'm okay. Like, um, I value life a lot more now. I'm extremely grateful for everything. Um, and I enjoy the time with my kids. Like the time with my kids playing board games, decorating the Christmas tree, doing things like that. It's whereas before I was there, but I wasn't there. So, this time I'm there and I'm really there. Like all of me is there. So it's different.
Host: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Americans are dying from drug overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic, over 81,000 in the 12 months ending in May of last year, the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12 month timeframe. For those in Palm Beach County who are struggling with opioid addiction, just like you did, what would you tell them?
Erica: There's a way out. I want people to know that there's a way out and that if they truly, really want the help, that it's there for them and they have to trust. And I know it's hard as an addict to trust. I didn't trust anybody, but I was ready and I was willing and I couldn't live the way I was living anymore. So, I surrendered, gave up the fight and followed the protocol that was laid out for me.
Host: Well, congratulations on all that you have achieved. I understand you're working full time and were promoted to a management position.
Erica: Um, I also have my own apartment. I get weekends with my children now. I wake up and I'm free from active addiction. That's the biggest one for me and the sense of peace and serenity within me, it makes a huge difference. So, I have a great life today, a life that I never thought I would have. So, I'm extremely grateful to be here.
Host: Thank you, Erica, for sharing your experience with us. To learn more about the medication addiction treatment program, or to make an appointment call the Health Care District C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics at (561) 642-1000. Or visit www.brumbackclinics.org. If you find this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channel and check out our full podcast library for topics of interest to you at healthcaredistrictpodcast.org.
Let us know what you think. Your review helps us reach more people, just like you. Today's podcast is brought to you by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. The Health Care District is a unique safety net healthcare system located in South Florida and provides residents access to primary care, skilled nursing and hospital care, registered nurses in nearly all of the county's public schools and oversight of the county's trauma system, which includes operating two lifesaving trauma Hawk air ambulances. Learn more by visiting HCDpbc.org.
Robin Kish (Host): Families across the country and in South Florida still grieve over the thousands of lives lost before COVID, as a result of the opioid epidemic. For many victims, addiction began with prescription pain medication, which led to stronger street drugs and a downward spiral. Last year, Palm Beach County opened the doors to an innovative public-private partnership and emergency room at JFK Medical Center North called an Addiction Stabilization Center or ASU. Patients across the County who overdose are transported to the ASU for evidence-based care. Many of the patients receive a warm handoff to the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's Medication Assisted Treatment Program located right on the hospital's campus. We'll talk to a patient who says the care she received from both of these programs, brought her from relapse to recovery, on this edition of Here For Your Health.
Welcome to the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's podcast Here For Your Health. I'm your host, Robin Kish. Our guest today is Erica, a patient at the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's Medication Assisted Treatment Program, and a former patient at JFK Medical Center North's Addiction Stabilization Unit, a specialized ER, for patients who have overdosed. Erica, take us back in your journey. What has life been like for you over the past 10 years?
Erica (Guest): Um, so for the last decade, um, I've struggled with addiction. Um, at 18 years old, I was diagnosed with degenerative joint disease. And from the age of 23, I became addicted to opiates. By the time I was 32, I tried heroin for the first time. Um, because they didn't, doctors didn't prescribe pills like they used those. So, I turned street drugs, which was heroin. And I've been in and out of treatment several times, in and out of detox several times. Um, I could get together between six months to a year and um, that was about it. And then I would relapse. I've lost custody of all three of my children. Um, several vehicles, several apartments, all my belongings. I OD'd quite a few times in the last five years, I'd say. Yeah, it's been rough. It's been rough.
Host: You overdosed a few times?
Erica: I overdosed. Um, they had to bring me back with Narcan, so I'm not sure, like, I didn't really ask details when I woke up from it, I was still dazed and out of it. And my only thought when I woke up wasn't to find out how I was doing it was because I needed to find some more heroin. That was my first thought, waking up.
Host: In 2020, what brought you back to JFK Medical Center Norris Addiction Stabilization unit in Mangonia Park?
Erica: I was living on the street, sleeping by a dumpster, hadn't showered in two weeks and had gotten worse than it's ever gotten in my life. Um, I called 9-1-1 and they sent, um, an ambulance. These three really nice young gentlemen got me in the ambulance and asked me what I wanted them to do. I said, I need help. I had cellulitis really bad in my right hand. So, I asked them to take me to JFK North cause I heard of the ASU unit Addiction Stabilization unit. And I had tried going there two times previously, but something didn't click. So, I figured I would try it again. Um, they brought me to the hospital. I was admitted to the hospital for two days prior to, um, going through ASU for detox. I went over to the Health Care District after being discharged from the hospital.
One of the nurses there, nurse practitioners there had walked me back over, actually wheeled me back over in a wheelchair. I had went into precipitated withdrawal and we went back over to the JFK North and they brought me into the emergency room. And I had met Dr. Keehn briefly at one of the other times that I was there when I was in precipitated withdrawal. Um, and he just touched my heart. Like I knew he cared. Like I knew that he cared and he wanted better for me. Um, and for other people, of course, for addicts and I knew that his job meant the world to him to help.
Host: Now, Dr. Steven Keehn, he's the Medical Director of Emergency Services at JFK Medical Center North.
Erica: He talked to me and he made me make a promise to him to go to Healthcare District the next day to follow the MAT program. And I agreed with him. So, he admitted me. I got stabilized. I was released the next day. I was stabilized on Suboxone and I was released the next day to Healthcare District. And from there, Ingrid helped me to get a bed at Ted's place, which, and she set up the assessment, for an assessment for me, at Village for Change. And I went to that assessment and I got a bed there. I did six months of residential treatment. And then I was discharged. Um, I did two weeks in a halfway house on a voucher because of the Coronavirus, we were not able to work while in treatment and save money. So, they gave us a short term voucher. Um, I applied for the Lewis Center and I was accepted. Uh, it took about four months and then I went there for three months and now I'm in my own apartment with my daughter and I have little over 10 months clean.
Host: It's taken time and dedication to get there. I understand in the first year, since the ASU opened, you're one of about 300 ASU patients who received a warm handoff to the Healthcare District's Medication Assisted Treatment Program for immediate outpatient care. Now you've had to follow the protocol, show up for your appointments to receive the prescription Suboxone, to reduce dependence on opioids, work closely with a therapist and receive access to other medical and social services. If not for the ASU and the MAT programs, what you think would have happened to you?
Erica: I'm not sure. I don't think it would, uh, def I, I know that it wouldn't be the way it is now. Being on the medication helps me to know that if I was to pick up and use, more than likely I wouldn't make it, I would overdose and I would die this time. So, knowing that now that I'm already clean. It's, it's like a safety net. It's like, you know, that you can't use because you'll end up dying from an overdose. So, and it fights all the cravings. I have no cravings. Um, I suffer from a lot of mental health issues. So, I also take a lot of mental health medications. Um, but without the medication and the treatment, I don't think I'd be where I am today.
Host: So, it's an ongoing commitment. You seem very grateful to the medical staff who have coordinated your care.
Erica: Um, it's amazing. It saved my life between Dr. Keehn at JFK North and Dr. Rolan and Ingrid at Health Care District and the MAT program, I would have died. They saved my life. They've given their children back a mom.
Host: Erica, what is the best part of your recovery? What do you enjoy the most now?
Erica: What do I enjoy the most, um, my wake up every morning and I have that freedom from active addiction. My first thought isn't what do I have to do to get the drugs that I need to be okay today. I wake up and I'm, I'm okay. Like, um, I value life a lot more now. I'm extremely grateful for everything. Um, and I enjoy the time with my kids. Like the time with my kids playing board games, decorating the Christmas tree, doing things like that. It's whereas before I was there, but I wasn't there. So, this time I'm there and I'm really there. Like all of me is there. So it's different.
Host: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Americans are dying from drug overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic, over 81,000 in the 12 months ending in May of last year, the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12 month timeframe. For those in Palm Beach County who are struggling with opioid addiction, just like you did, what would you tell them?
Erica: There's a way out. I want people to know that there's a way out and that if they truly, really want the help, that it's there for them and they have to trust. And I know it's hard as an addict to trust. I didn't trust anybody, but I was ready and I was willing and I couldn't live the way I was living anymore. So, I surrendered, gave up the fight and followed the protocol that was laid out for me.
Host: Well, congratulations on all that you have achieved. I understand you're working full time and were promoted to a management position.
Erica: Um, I also have my own apartment. I get weekends with my children now. I wake up and I'm free from active addiction. That's the biggest one for me and the sense of peace and serenity within me, it makes a huge difference. So, I have a great life today, a life that I never thought I would have. So, I'm extremely grateful to be here.
Host: Thank you, Erica, for sharing your experience with us. To learn more about the medication addiction treatment program, or to make an appointment call the Health Care District C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics at (561) 642-1000. Or visit www.brumbackclinics.org. If you find this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channel and check out our full podcast library for topics of interest to you at healthcaredistrictpodcast.org.
Let us know what you think. Your review helps us reach more people, just like you. Today's podcast is brought to you by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. The Health Care District is a unique safety net healthcare system located in South Florida and provides residents access to primary care, skilled nursing and hospital care, registered nurses in nearly all of the county's public schools and oversight of the county's trauma system, which includes operating two lifesaving trauma Hawk air ambulances. Learn more by visiting HCDpbc.org.