Exploring Kolmac Outpatient Addiction Treatment Center: Services, Location, and Impact - Paper Example

Name and Type of Institution

I visited the Kolmac outpatient addiction treatment center, located at 1411 K Street NW, Suite 703 Washington, DC 20005. I chose to look into this center because of its proximity to where I currently live and the many years that the center has been in operation. I strongly believe that facilities that have been addressing addiction issues in society for a long have more experience, hence expertise in handling patients and guiding them to recovery. Kolmac, outpatient treatment centers have been in operation since 1973, when Dr. George Kolodner first founded them. During that time, there was a lot of stigma around substance abuse and addiction; the addiction treatment institutions available were countable, and most were residential. However Dr. Kolodner, having worked with the military at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, believed that outpatient rehabilitation was possible if the same intensity of care he had witnessed being offered to recovering admitted patients was strategically given to them (Kolmac, 2019). Kolmac is a private facility but charges reasonable fees for treatment since the charges do not include residential fees and accept insurance from various companies. These factors make the facility more accessible and the first option for recovering addicts.

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Setting and Location of the Facility

The addiction treatment facility is located at 1411 K Street NW, Suite 703 Washington, DC 20005. My opinion about its location is that it is strategically placed in a place where drug abuse and, consequently, addiction are on the rise daily. The most abused drugs in Washington, DC, are alcohol, which accounts for half of the population seeking addiction treatment, followed by cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and prescription drugs (Recoveryconnection, 2020). Drug-induced deaths are the peak in history in the state of Columbia. Most individuals are seen combining alcohol with opiates and others overdosing on these substances. Hence, it is the perfect location to put up drug addiction rehabilitation centers for both the state and the private sectors. When I walked into the center, the first thing that I noticed was the pin-drop silence that filled the air, with once in a while, computer keyboard typing and doors opening and closing. I do not know if my judgment was clouded by the information I had and my attitude toward how badly drug abuse can derail someone’s life, but the environment was dull. The walls were painted in one color except for the reception where they had tried to alter the colors, and the hallway was empty with perfect lighting and fresh air. The receptionist was very friendly and seemed to have mastered the art of not letting her change of emotion or judgment reflect on her face. Though clean the place kind of smelt like a hospital, I could not tell if it was the antiseptic they used to clean the place or the drugs they were giving the recovering addicts.

Purpose of The Centre

Kolmac addiction recovery centers are well known for their inclusivity, starting from staff to their patients. The center in Washington DC prides itself on the non-discrimination of their patients, serving both male and female patients and members of the LGBTQ+ community. This makes the data and statistics from the center reliable in carrying out studies and for the state to know how much infrastructure has to be allocated to recovering addicts and note the progress being made in the war against drug abuse. The Kolmac Addiction Recovery Center offers its clients diverse recovery programs ranging from thirty-day programs to sixty days the longest being a ninety-day program (Kolmac, 2019). The dura varies depending on how severe an individual’s addiction is. Their thirty-day recovery programs show how supportive they are to their clientele since this is affordable and can give individuals a window to see if there is progress and from that, make a financial plan on how they can extend their treatment period. The center receptionist also informed me that most insurance companies willingly cover the thirty-day program compared to the other longer programs. Sixty-day programs allow for incorporating different therapy sessions that give the patient a routine they can follow on their own after treatment to help them stay sober. The ninety-day program is the longest available and has seen more recovery rates than the other programs. This is possible because the patient and practitioners have had enough time to get to the root course of addiction. Solving the problem from the inside outward makes it easy to attain sobriety.

Mission Statement and Philosophy

Kolmac’s mission statement is; to provide excellent care to patients facing addiction (Kolmac, 2019). From this, we can derive two objectives that the institution focuses on: offering affordable and high-quality patient care and positively influencing the addiction recovery industry.

Services and Functions of the Institution

Kolmac offers addiction treatment using various methods beginning with medication-aided recovery treatment. This involves combining medication with other psychological forms of treatment to slowly reduce drug use, monitor their progress, and manage the withdrawal symptoms. Severe withdrawal symptoms may drive some patients right back into addiction. While at the center, I saw individuals walk in at specific times to get their medication; the hospital staff informed me that they had apart timings for different groups. Let those addicted to opioids come first from nine to ten in the morning, and those who are suffering from opioid misuse visit the center from noon. This system has been put in place to help avoid giving individuals the wrong medication and make work easier for the center's staff. Addicts recovering from alcohol abuse are put on naltrexone, disulfiram, and acamprosate depending on which drug is more compatible with the individual. Those addicted to opioid misuse like heroin are put on naltrexone, buprenorphine, and methadone. The doctors decide the treatment differently for each individual (Gammill, 2014). These individuals were started on mild medication. Their progress is monitored over time; if there is no great improvement or if the patient complains about unbearable withdrawal symptoms, the doctor significantly reconsiders their medications. The medical staff administered naloxone to any patient brought in because of an opioid overdose. The center combined medication-assisted treatment with three-hour therapy sessions that were individual. The center strongly believes in transcendental meditation, which helps addicts find the source and reason they are susceptible to drug addiction. Most times, drug misuse is always a way of coping with certain unpleasant events in the addicts' lives or filling an emptiness felt by these individuals. Through meditation, they can access a more fulfilled version of themselves that they can reach out to, to help them remain sober even after they have completed treatment. Doctors recommend that their patients master the art of meditation while under treatment to make it easy for them to continue on their own post-treatment. The center had two rooms dedicated to alcoholic anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous group meetings with a schedule of when the meetings were held being handed out to everyone who visited the center. However, this service is currently not functional because of COVID-19.

Administrative Staff Functions and Responsibilities

The institution's staff members include recovered drug addicts who are passionate about helping others get out of addiction. These individuals are so passionate about recovery from drug abuse that they get clinical training on becoming effective rehab service providers after leaving the center. If there is a vacancy at the center, they are given the first priority. According to most staff who have been drug abusers before, these jobs help them stay on track and not go back to abusing drugs. It also gives patients hope and a sense of belonging, knowing that whatever they are going through is not new to the staff members (Gammill, 2014). The moment you walk past the center's security, the first staff member you interact with is an admission director at the reception who will review your credentials answer any questions an individual has, and enter the details of any individual who is ready to join the recovery programs. Then the patient will be directed to the psychotherapist to establish what the addiction is and its severity. They will be sent to the laboratory for tests to confirm what substance they have been using, the quantities, and if there are any diseases that the patient might be suffering from. After the tests are complete, the patient is sent to a detox specialist who will offer different recovery plans depending on the lab report. After the patient has chosen a recovery program, the admission director links them with a counselor with whom they agree on the counseling hours and days, they will visit the center. The case manager will often interact with patients and inquire if they receive satisfactory services at the center. Administrative staff members at Kolmac Center that the patient may not directly interact with are; the founder and the program director who oversee the center's smooth running. Subordinate staff like the cleaners who make sure that the environment is conducive to keep patients wanting to come back to the center.

Types of Clients Served at Kolmac Centre

The center offers outpatient addiction recovery services to patients from all walks of life. This is apparent by the different programs they have, the thirty-day recovery program being provided to those who cannot commit financially to a three-month program. Other than this, before COVID-19, the AA/NA group meetings were open to all. For those who were not part of any of the paying programs, all required was registration for identification and security purposes. The center has partnered with non-governmental organizations to supply addicts with new syringes and needles and sensitize them against the sharing of needles to avoid contracting diseases like HIV. During this pandemic period, they have also included food charities as part of their package for those who cannot afford to fend for themselves. In terms of gender, the center welcomes both male and female addicts seeking recovery and LGBTQ+ community members. According to the centers' data, male patients account for more than half of the population that visits the center, followed by female patients; then, the least population is that of LGBTQ+ community members Kolmac, 2019). Some of my inquiries were turned down as the admission director told me that their patient information was confidential and that what they usually share with any researcher is just graphical data of superficial information. This increases their clients' trust in them and broadens their clientele list to include individuals of high social status who may not want their information disclosed.

Observational Narrative

The Washington Kolmac Center claims recovery success rates of seventy percent. Unlike other centers, this one has post-treatment follow-up programs that keep checking on patients long after they have stopped visiting the facility. This makes the success rates claimed by the center more trustworthy as compared to institutions that mark success rates with the number of sobriety cases leaving treatment centers and do not follow up on their patients after completion of treatment. The center attributes its high success rates to the fact that it combines medication treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy and teaches its patients meditation options that th...