The COMPA Bulletin
Volume II, Issue 4 June 15, 2002
Contents:
New Board Seated, Officers Elected
In April, the COMPA Board of Director’s met and newly elected Board Members Addie Corradi of Beth Israel Hospital, Otto C. Feliu from Crouse Hospital, Derrick Spencer from Concourse Medical Center and Lolita Silva-Vazquez from Greenwich House MTP were officially seated. Newly elected Board members will serve 3 year terms, with the exception of Otto Feliu who is filling a vacancy with 2 yrs. Remaining. Elections were also held for new officers. Ira Marion was selected as new president, Herb Barish as Vice President, Addie Corradi as Treasurer, and Joanne Morne who continues as Secretary. The Board also established a bylaws committee to address several issues, including the creation of the office of Past President to ensure continuity for the organization.
Ira subsequently sent the following letter to the field thanking Past President Peter Coleman for his leadership during the past three years: Dear Peter, On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire membership of COMPA, I cannot thank you enough for your three years of service as President of COMPA. You served at a time when vast changes were taking place in the methadone treatment system and, through your direction, when COMPA was in transition to become self-sufficient. Your leadership enabled COMPA to access the CSAT National Leadership Institute, restructure the Board of Directors, transition COMPA funding from Mount Sinai Hospital to a strong corporate base, hire a new Executive Director, establish an Albany office and presence and put us on firm footing for the future. We are now poised to move ahead with potential funding for at least one project and with a motivated, excited Board of Directors anxious to serve the methadone treatment community in New York State.
Simultaneously, your leadership enabled New York State’s methadone treatment programs to respond to OASAS’ report on methadone, resulting in the creation of a joint task force, with OASAS and COMPA representatives to work toward implementation of the report to improve and enhance methadone treatment. You never wavered from the issues, championing the 35:1 ratio, the need for a survey of the membership’s physical plants in preparation for accreditation, advocating for better integration of methadone treatment into other modalities, as well as bringing OASAS funding in line with the goals and objectives of treatment and so many other important agenda items vital to the COMPA membership. Even when the tragic events of September 11 disrupted your office and your working life, you managed to keep our membership informed through publishing the COMPA Bulletin and through membership meetings and communiques.
While I am honored that the Board elected me to succeed you, the job will be made easier knowing you will continue to remain active. I am also hopeful that the by-laws change, discussed at the meeting on Friday, making the immediate Past President an officer, will be enacted quickly. Again, on behalf of the Board and our membership, and our colleagues across the substance abuse prevention and treatment field, thank you so much for your hard work, dedication and loyalty to COMPA over these years during your tenure as President. Ira J. Marion
National Advocates For Pregnant Women Condemns
C.R.A.C.K. Campaign Targeting Methadone Clinics
Press Release from NAPW, April 29, 2002 - The National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) released an open letter to Barbara Harris, executive director of Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (C.R.A.C.K.) and Project Prevention, condemning a misleading statement by the organization regarding methadone treatment during pregnancy. The open letter was signed by more than 100 doctors, methadone treatment experts, and advocates, including Dr. Lynn Singer of Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Wendy Chavkin of Columbia University, the Institute for Health and Recovery, the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, and the National Women's Health Institute.
C.R.A.C.K. offers $200 to current and former drug and alcohol users to be sterilized or to use a
long-acting contraceptive. One of the organization's chapters has been
documented encouraging women who have been in recovery for over ten
years to take part in the program. In C.R.A.C.K.'s February 22nd
letter, sent to some methadone treatment clinics around the country,
Ms. Harris stated "I'm sure one thing most can agree on is that it is
important for those using methadone or other drugs to refrain from
getting pregnant."
"Our primary concern is that this letter could lead to further stigma against women who need
methadone treatment and contribute to the many myths and
misunderstandings about its value for pregnant and parenting women,"
said Lynn Paltrow executive director of NAPW. The letter, asserting
that C.R.A.C.K. has a "working relationship" with some methadone
clinics, has provoked outrage in the methadone treatment community.
Mark Parrino, president of the American Association for the Treatment
of Opioid Dependence, also condemned C.R.A.C.K.'s statement in a letter
copied to over 700 treatment centers. "Methadone treatment has enormous
benefits both for the patients, including women who may become
pregnant, and for the community at large," said Dr. Robert Newman,
Director of The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation Chemical Dependency
Institute of Beth Israel Medical Center.
NAPW's open letter to Ms. Harris urges C.R.A.C.K. to withdraw their
letter and to advise the individuals and clinics who received it of the
misleading nature of its implications about methadone treatment during
pregnancy.
NAPW is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of pregnant and parenting
women and their children. NAPW seeks to ensure that women do not lose
their constitutional and human rights as a result of pregnancy and that
addiction and other health and welfare problems that women face during
pregnancy are addressed as treatable health issue.
For additional information please visit: http://www.advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/index.htm
Increased Demand for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
CASA Press Release, April 2, 2002, New York - Twenty-three states, five cities and Washington, D.C. have detected an increased demand for alcohol and drug treatment since September 11, according to a new survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. The telephone survey of the offices of substance abuse services in 50 states, the ten largest U.S. cities and Washington, D.C. is a follow up to one conducted by CASA in late November/early December. That survey found 13 states, three cities and Washington, D.C. had seen an increased demand for such treatment.
"The rubble may be almost cleared away, but the lingering effects of September 11 and its aftermath are far from over," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA President and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. "It is imperative to provide treatment for individuals who have turned to alcohol and drugs to cope or have relapsed from sobriety, so that they do not become the second wave of victims of our national tragedy."
Twenty-three states detected an increase in demand for substance abuse treatment since September 11 (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia). Of the ten cities that
responded to the survey, five (Detroit, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix), detected an increased demand for treatment. Washington, D.C. also detected an increase. Six states (Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky and Tennessee), Detroit, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. characterized the increase as substantial. The increased demand for treatment is clustered largely on the East Coast.
Areas close to the attacks reported increased demands for treatment following September 11, including New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Massachusetts reported an increase in tobacco sales in addition to an increase in the demand for
alcohol and drug treatment. Although Rhode Island did not see an increase in demand for substance abuse treatment, the state did report an increase in the need for mental health treatment. Several states and cities farther away from the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks cited factors such as improved law enforcement, recession, rising unemployment, decreased tourism and new laws as additional reasons for the increased demand for treatment.
"The double whammy of the terrorist attacks and difficult economic conditions makes it essential for the federal government to provide increased funding for drug and alcohol treatment," said Califano. "Congress and the Administration must pay as much attention to providing individuals
with the services to rebuild their lives as they are to providing resources to rebuild physical facilities."
CASA expresses its appreciation to the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors for help in identifying the offices in each of the states responsible for substance abuse services. Offices responded to the following two questions: In your state/city, have you detected an increased demand for alcohol treatment since September 11? In your state/city, have you detected an increased demand for drug treatment since September 11? If respondents answered yes to a question, they were asked if they would describe the increase as substantial. The survey was conducted between March 11 and March 25, six months after the events of
September 11.
Twenty-two states did not see an increased demand for treatment (Arkansas, California, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.); four of the cities surveyed did not see an increased demand (Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio and San Diego). Five states and one city did not have sufficient data to determine whether or not there was an increased demand for treatment (Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont and Los Angeles).
In CASA's previous survey, 13 states reported an increased demand for alcohol and drug treatment (Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Tennessee). Alaska, Kentucky, North Dakota and Tennessee characterized the increase as substantial. Three cities (Houston, New York City and Phoenix) and Washington, D.C. reported an increased demand. New York City characterized the increase as substantial.
Massachusetts Vote Imperils State's Methadone Clinics
May 28, 2002, from The Week Online With DRCNet,
Issue 237 - The budgetary crisis sweeping the states this year -- 43
will run budget deficits, according to the latest reports -- is hitting
Massachusetts hard, and lawmakers have responded by, among other
things, voting to cut all funding for the state's 40 methadone
clinics. The clinics provide the opioid methadone as a treatment
for heroin addiction, and also require participants to undergo
mandatory weekly counseling and random drug tests. Public health
officials, methadone advocates and even police officials are warning
that shutting down the clinics will adversely affect both the public
health and the crime rate.
With plenty of cheap, high purity heroin available
and heroin use on the rise, according to public health officials, the
cuts are particularly ill-timed. Dime bags of heroin now go for
as little as $4, the Boston Globe reported this week -- about the price
of a pack of cigarettes, the paper noted -- and the stuff is 80% pure,
up from 15% a few years ago. Heroin users are filling 40% of
state hospital drug treatment slots, running a close second to
alcohol. In Boston alone, more than 10,000 residents were
hospitalized last year for treatment for heroin addiction, said the
Globe.
"The shift to heroin in recent years has been dramatic -- it's the
highest it's ever been," James O'Connell, president of Healthcare for
the Homeless told the Globe. "This is a huge public health
problem, and methadone is the most effective way to treat it." Nearly
11,000 people are currently enrolled in methadone programs in the
state, said Tom Scott of the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health's Division of Substance Abuse. More than three-quarters of
those people would lose their slots in methadone maintenance programs,
he told the Boston Herald.
"The human impact would be devastating," added John
Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.
"Elimination of the Massachusetts methadone maintenance programs would
be nothing short of a public health disaster," said Mark W. Parrino,
president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid
Dependence), an advocacy group representing more than nearly 700
treatment programs across the US. "The programs in Massachusetts
have been in existence for more than two decades and are responsible for
> saving the lives of thousands of individuals," he told DRCNet. "It
is inconceivable that the state legislature would put so many lives in
jeopardy," he said.
But that's precisely what the Massachusetts House
Ways and Means Committee did late in April as budget deficits spiraled
out of control. As part of $1.5 billion in budget cuts distributed
across state agencies, members voted to axe the $25 million
appropriation that would have kept the clinics up and running. But if
fiscal pressures spurred the lawmakers, several, including
> committee chair John Rogers (D-Norwood), revealed philosophical
opposition to methadone maintenance in their comments, as well as crime
concerns. "It's not that I don't feel for these people, but there
are programs that are drug-free and that work better than just giving
people another drug," Rep. Cheryl Rivers (D- Springfield), told the
Globe. Rivers favored an bstinence-only approach to heroin
addiction, calling for detox or other cold-turkey programs. She
also complained that the two clinics in her district have created crime
problems. So did Chairman Rogers, who called the clinics "a nightmare"
for their neighbors. DRCNet could not obtain a breakdown of
clinic-related crime, but in attempting to do so, did find an editorial
from the New England Journal of Medicine last November. In a
discussion of "new opportunities" in treating opiate dependence, the
journal noted:"Methadone maintenance can decrease the use of illicit
drugs and crime and help patients function better, gain employment, and
contribute to society. It can also prevent health problems such
as HIV infection and is thus a cost-effective public health
intervention." If the lawmakers don't get it, some police officials
do. "When these people want these drugs, they're going to get it
-- the addiction is that great," Lt. Frank Armstrong, commander of the
Boston Police Drug Control Division, told the Globe. "What is the
better good: that hundreds go to methadone clinics or that they're
about town scurrying for more drugs?"
The state's budget battle is not yet over, and advocates vow to fight
to restore the funding, but legislative opposition to maintaining
addicts even on legal substitute opioids in a controlled setting
combined with the suddenly shriveling state treasury may well doom the
clinics. But advocates are mobilizing for a last-ditch effort to save
the clinics. "There has not yet been a final vote," said Parrino
of the treatment association. "Our Massachusetts associates are
working with other groups to have these funds restored," he told
DRCNet. "I'm certain that the Massachusetts methadone maintenance
providers and patient advocates will find a solution to this issue."
Only time will tell whether Parrino is whistling past the graveyard, so
to speak.
Visit the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates at http://www.methadone.org for information on this issue from a patient/advocate perspective. Resource information is also
available from Advocates for Recovery Through Medicine, http://members.aol.com/r2135/.
Little Change in Alcohol Use During Pregnancy
2002-04-04 (Reuters Health) By Megan Rauscher - Many women of childbearing age in the US are not getting the message about the adverse effects of alcohol use during pregnancy, according to a report in the April 5th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. "Even with all the interventions and messages out there, we have not seen a significant decrease in alcohol use among women of childbearing age," Dr. Jasjeet S. Sidhu, of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, told Reuters Health.
The CDC team used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 1991 to 1999 to analyze trends in alcohol use among women between 18 and 44 years of age. Of the 107,141 women interviewed about their alcohol use between 1995 and 1999, 4695 (4.3%) were pregnant at the time of the interview. The overall prevalence of any alcohol use, defined as at least one drink, during pregnancy, increased from 12.4% in 1991 to 16.3% in 1995, but declined thereafter to 11.4% in 1997 and 12.8% in 1999. However, the rates of binge drinking, defined as having five or more drinks on any one occasion, and frequent drinking, defined as having seven drinks per week or five or more drinks on any one occasion, among pregnant women remained "substantially unchanged."
For binge drinking, the rates in 1995, 1997, and 1999 were 2.9%, 1.8%, and 2.7%, respectively. For frequent drinking, the rates were 3.5%, 2.1%, and 3.3%, respectively. Among nonpregnant women between 18 and 44 years of age, rates of any alcohol use and binge drinking also remained stable. For any use, the rates were 53.2% in 1995, 52.8% in 1997, and 53.3% in 1999. For binge drinking, the rates were 11.2% in 1995, 10.8% in 1997, and 12.3% in 1999. These findings, Dr. Sidhu told Reuters Health, parallel results reported last week in the College Alcohol Study indicating that more than 40% of US college students still binge drink, a figure which has remained constant for almost a decade. (see Reuters Health report, March 25, 2002).
"Healthcare professionals who provide care for women of childbearing age should routinely screen for alcohol use," Dr. Sidhu told Reuters Health. "All childbearing age women should receive messages about the adverse effects of alcohol use during pregnancy," he said.
Website Provides Self-Testing, Feedback to Identify Alcohol Problems
New York, April 3, 2002 Press Release, Join Together, Boston, MA - "How much is too much?" AlcoholScreening.org <http://alcoholscreening.org/>, a web site to aid in learning the effects of alcohol on health and well-being, helps to answer this question. During Alcohol Awareness Month (April) and beyond, at Alcohol Screening.org, individuals can take a confidential, informative self-test to assess their drinking patterns and receive personalized feedback. Participants find out whether their alcohol consumption is likely to be within safe limits, or if it may be harmful to their health, now or in the future. Individual results are compared with others of the same age and gender to give participants a true sense of whether they drink more or less than their peers.
The site launched last year during National Alcohol Awareness Month, when the general public is encouraged to learn more about alcohol's effects on health and well-being. Since then, more than 85,000 people have visited the site and over 30,000 individuals have completed the test, which takes only a few minutes. Many websites have linked to it, including the Terry McGovern
Foundation, About.com, University of Missouri, LaSalle University, Friends of Recovery New Hampshire, the Montana and Massachusetts state health departments, the Crime Prevention Resource Center, Delta Airlines, SoberCity.com, the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Cal State San Marcos, and WebMD.
AlcoholScreening.org also features answers to frequently asked questions about alcohol and health, links to support resources, and a database of 12,000 local treatment programs throughout the US. AlcoholScreening.org is a free service of Join Together, a project of the Boston University School of Public Health. Alcohol abuse and dependence are serious public health problems, resulting in 100,000 deaths per year in the United States and costing the healthcare system billions of dollars annually. Excessive alcohol use is a major cause of injuries, violent crime, lost productivity at work and school, family and social problems, and disease.
"Is my drinking risky?" Although moderate alcohol consumption is safe for most people, many people do not know what low-risk drinking is, nor do they know the circumstances in which drinking no alcohol is the safest choice. Scientific research has shown that screening and brief intervention can be very effective in prompting people whose alcohol consumption is risky or harmful to cut back on their drinking or seek treatment. But a large percentage of people don't realize they have an alcohol problem, or are at risk, because no one asks them about their drinking patterns. AlcoholScreening.org provides a confidential way for people to "ask themselves" about their own drinking behaviors, take positive actions to change if needed, and find helpful resources. As one anonymous user said: "I think I am a problem drinker. I drink six beers a night (at least). With your help, I hope to bring that number down to zero. Thanks!"
For non-nonsense, health-based alcohol use information, visit www.alcoholscreening.org <http://alcoholscreening.org/>
MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS
2002 – 2003 COMPA General Membership Meetings
September 2002
December 13, 2002
May 14, 2003
CONFERENCE AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
New England School for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence
July 7 to 11, 2002 at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
Sponsored by the New England Institute of Addiction Studies, RI Dept. of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals, the Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England, the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, SAMHSA and others. This institute has been specially designed for clinicians, administrators and health care professionals who work in opioid treatment facilities. Feature presentations and intensive seminars on important topics including: evidence based medical practice, clinical best practices, treating special populations, quality improvement practices, and accreditation preparation.
For information or to be placed on the mailing list for the 2002 program, contact the New England Institute of Addiction Studies at neias@neias.org or 207-621-2549.
Treating Addictions in Special Populations: Research Confronts Reality
October 7 & 8, 2002, Binghamton, New York Hosted By Binghamton
University , Broome Community College, Research Institute on Addiction,
and Decker School of Nursing
The conference will address the multidimensional treatment issues that have emerged among special populations affected by substance-related disorders and process addictions. The special populations fall within the following categories: those with health conditions (e.g. MICA/dual diagnosis, physically challenged, HIV/AIDS, mentally / developmentally disabled, on substance-maintenance); those impacted by life situations and circumstances (e.g. poverty, homeless, in residential settings, incarcerated); and those in specific demographic groups (e.g. elderly, people of color, college students, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender, rural, families, adolescents, women). Presentations will address distinct and common treatment issues specific to these special populations as well as treatment programs that have been found to be effective. General sessions, workshops, paper presentations and poster sessions will be included.
For information please contact Jane Angelone, Conference Coordinator, at Binghamton University. (607) 777-4447; or http://sehd.binghamton.edu/pdr/index.htm; or angelone@binghamton.edu
SAVE THE DATE
ASAP"S 6th Annual Statewide Conference
October 27 – 30, 2002, Syracuse New York
ABOUT COMPA
The Committee of Methadone Program Administrators of New York State is a not-for-profit coalition representing New York State’s methadone treatment system which serves over 46,000 individuals suffering from opioid addiction and other substance abuse disorders.
Opioid addiction is a chronic, relapsing medical disorder, with serious consequences related to public health and safety. Methadone treatment has proven to be the most effective means of treating this disorder.
COMPA’s mission is to further the treatment of opioid addiction and other substance abuse disorders in order to address the medical, social and psychological consequences of use, prevent the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases, reduce criminal behavior, promote employment and self-sufficiency, and support the return to a healthy and productive lifestyle.
In order to support this mission, COMPA and its member organizations are committed to the promotion and expansion of methadone treatment through education of elected officials, providers, consumers, and the public at large. COMPA advocates for expanded models of service delivery, co-located services and consumer empowerment to provide increased access to treatment. COMPA supports enhanced services, a comprehensive continuum of care, the provision of high quality treatment and ongoing professional staff development. COMPA encourages the involvement of membership in the development of public policy, standards of care, and regulatory oversight.
COMPA Board of Directors
Ira Marion, AECOM-Montefiore, President
Peter Coleman, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, Past President
Herbert Barish, Lower Eastside Service Center, Vice President
Addie Corradi, Beth Israel Hospital, Treasurer
Johanne Morne, Whitney Young MMTP, Secretary
Willard Campbell, Suffolk County Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services
Otto C. Feliu, Crouse Hospital
Robert Krauss, Long Beach Hospital MMTP
Robert Sage, A.R.T.C.
Derrick Spencer, Concourse Medical Center
Lolita Silva-Vazquez, Greenwich House MTP
COMPA Executive Director
Henry Bartlett
COMPA has established this newsletter to ensure that New York State providers of opioid treatment services have an effective mechanism of communication which facilitates the dissemination of information, encourages dialogue and the adaptation of best practices, promotes staff development and retention, and assists in the effort to reduce stigma. The COMPA Bulletin includes information regarding best practices, research, demonstration projects, accreditation, training opportunities, conferences, and other items of interest to the field and will be distributed via email on a monthly basis.
COMPA encourages readers to submit news, articles, research, and other items of interest for possible inclusion. Submissions should be titled "COMPA Bulletin Submission" and directed to info@compa-ny.org.
Want to receive the COMPA Bulletin directly? Send your email address to us and we will be happy to add your name to our list. Addresses should be titled "Subscription List" and directed to compahb@hotmail.com.
Past issues of the COMPA Bulletin are available on our web site www.compa-ny.com.
The COMPA Bulletin is compiled, written and distributed by:
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Albany, N Y 12207
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