Lee Health Hires New Team Members, Expands Efforts to Treat Substance Use Disorders

Dec. 29, 2021

Substance use disorders and addiction affect people without regard to economic circumstances, education, race, geography, IQ or any other factors. At Lee Health, the two most common conditions we treat are opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder. There are effective treatments for those and other addictions, and Lee Health is committed to having the appropriate teams, support and educational opportunities to help treat and prevent substance use disorders in our community.

The Addiction Medicine Behavioral Health Center, which opened in 2019, offers outpatient services for those who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms, are motivated to stop using and who want to recover while continuing their activities of daily living. Treatment options include medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and individual and group therapy. We continue to grow these much-needed services with additional providers who specialize in addiction medicine, including Samuel Parish, M.D., and Mark Giordano, M.D., who joined Stephen Moenning, M.D., in the Addiction Medicine Behavioral Health Center.

Lee Health also recently welcomed two certified recovery peer specialists (CRPSs) to advance our treatment even more. CRPSs use lived experience and professional preparation to mentor and motivate others to achieve and maintain recovery. A CRPS has either personal experience, with at least two years in recovery, or experience as a family member or caregiver to a person with mental health and/or a substance use condition. Research shows these peers have a direct effect on moving patients into recovery. The CRPSs are currently providing consults in the emergency departments and inpatient units in the hospitals. In addition to connecting with patients on a personal level, the CRPSs can help refer patients to the outpatient addiction medicine clinic for therapy and MAT, and they can recommend additional recovery resources in our community.

Additionally, through our website – www.LeeHealth.org/our-services/addiction-medicine – we have created a space to share our commitment to comprehensive care options, education and support. The webpage also features blog posts that explore topics such as important things to know about drug addiction, how to help an alcoholic and more posts related to mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Lee Health addiction medicine team works tirelessly to educate our health system and our community about the realities of addiction. They are committed to removing the stigma often associated with substance use because they know that is critical to improving access to care. We are proud and appreciative of the committed and exceptional health care providers, families, friends and support systems who help make recovery from addiction possible.