Mobile Pathways Program Launched by CHR in Eastern Connecticut Ahead of Overdose Awareness Day
/Nonprofit behavioral healthcare provider Community Health Resources (CHR) will begin providing lifesaving services through the Mobile Pathways Program on Tuesday, August 18. The program will bring personalized, effective, and recovery-focused treatments to people across northeastern Connecticut who are struggling with opioid use disorders, according to officials.
The Mobile Pathways Program will begin operation Monday through Friday, from 7 to 11 AM, behind CHR’s outpatient behavioral health clinic at 1310 Main Street in Willimantic.
Launching just ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, the program reflects CHR’s commitment to helping address the opioid epidemic in Connecticut. Officials point out that the need is especially urgent in Northeastern Connecticut, which has the highest per-capita rate of overdose deaths in the state and extremely limited public transportation.
Staffed by a team of highly trained professionals, services on the Mobile Pathways Program will include:
Medications for Opioid Use Disorders, including Methadone.
Same-day inductions provided by on-site prescribers and nurses, as well as initial and annual physical exams.
Recovery-focused counseling from clinicians.
Ongoing support from on-site Recovery Support Specialists – people in recovery who will share their stories, struggles, and successes, and link people to recovery support services.
Access to Narcan and other lifesaving measures.
The Mobile Pathways Program was made possible by a grant to CHR from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). It is an extension of CHR’s Putnam Pathways Program, an outpatient Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) that has been part of the community for more than 20 years.
The Mobile Pathways Program will provide the same comprehensive care that individuals can access in a CHR office. CHR worked with Mission Mobile Medical, a nationally recognized leader in mobile health equipment, to outfit the vehicle. Interesting facts include this: The vehicle is a Fleetwood Flair 32S and weighs approximately 22,000 pounds and is more than 33 feet long, eight feet wide, and 12 feet high, outfitted to provide comfortable, confidential, and respectful care, and includes heating, AC, water, refrigeration for medications, and more.
In June, CHR celebrated the program’s launch with Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Commissioner Nancy Navarretta, Congressman Joe Courtney, State Senator Cathy Osten, State Senator Saud Anwar, State Representative Susan Johnson, local elected officials, the Windham Region Chamber of Commerce, healthcare providers, CHR’s Board of Directors, donors and other supporters.
For more information about the Mobile Pathways Program, and substance use treatment at CHR, please call 1-877-884-3571 or visit CHR’s Substance Use web page.
CHR is Connecticut’s most comprehensive, nonprofit behavioral healthcare agency and was the first nonprofit agency in CT to meet all of the rigorous federal criteria as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. CHR is licensed by the state and accredited by The Joint Commission and the National Commission of Correctional Health Care. Learn more at www.chrhealth.org.
