In 2018, HealthPoint and the Seattle Indian Health Clinic were the first locations in King County to offer low-barrier, on-demand walk-in hours for community members struggling with opioid use. Today, all HealthPoint Health Centers offer substance use treatment and support. Health Centers provide on-demand care using medication in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies to treat opioid-use disorders and help patients sustain recovery.
HealthPoint recognizes that drug and alcohol use problems are in all communities and is committed to providing the best care possible for our patients. Substance use disorder is a devastating public health problem that negatively impacts our patient population. Tragically, the increased use of fentanyl has had a devastating effect on many King County residents. HealthPoint has an unwavering commitment to address the opioid epidemic.
The Substance Use Disorder Program team is dedicated to understanding and addressing community needs. The team comprises a Medical Director, a Chemical Dependency Specialist, Peer Navigator, and a Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Nurse. Together, they work with all the HealthPoint primary care and behavioral health providers and the community outreach efforts through the Mobile Medical Van and Community Resource Centers. The team shares an unwavering commitment to addressing the opioid epidemic and provides both in-person and remote care, through telehealth.
The Substance Use Disorder Program is dedicated to removing as many barriers as possible for clients to access treatment, including clinic all day every day and an outreach team so people who want suboxone can get it and start right away.
A major barrier to substance use treatment is the barrier of people not being ready to stop using. HealthPoint is committed to being available whenever people are ready to receive treatment. The team engages community members and reminds them that they have a welcoming healthcare home. They believe long-term relationship building helps clients with addiction, and, eventually, with other medical or mental health concerns.
Most patients have experienced shame related to substance use in medical care settings. The commitment from the team and leadership is to create patient-centered care focused on seeing the person and not just the disease, to be open and welcoming, and to remove shame from drug and alcohol use.
The substance use clinic has a flexible model. While clinicians often focus on medication for opioid addiction, other treatment options, including behavioral health are available. The focus on medication is to keep people alive so they can start to engage in care.
HealthPoint is trying to ensure the most at-risk are cared for through partnerships with outreach programs, local jails, and mental health treatment facilities.
Future directions include community outreach generally, for unhoused people, in school-based health centers, and for clients/patients whose first language is not English. In addition to outreach, the program also wants to expand harm reduction practices, integrate communicable disease care into clinic, and provide more overdose prevention strategies and tools.