HEALTHLINES Dr. Lance Lee helped launch Ampla Health’s first Alpha Recovery Center, which provides buprenorphine and counseling to those seeking opioid-addiction treatment.
Ampla doesn’t just provide Suboxone treatment for those with opioid dependency. It is a nonprofit community health center with medical, pediatrics, dental, behavioral health, chiropractic, social and specialty services offered at more than a dozen locations across Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba counties. The physician team’s approach, Lee said, is geared toward accepting patients as they are and reducing stigma. “We make it pretty easy to access care in a nonjudgmental environment, offering them other support services,” he said. “Drug addiction is a disease, not a weakness of character.” More people in Butte County still die from
opioids at a higher rate than much of the state. The opioid-induced death rate is HEALTHLINES c o n T i n U e d
Tackling the epidemic Ampla Health expands opioid addiction treatment services story and photo by
Ashiah Scharaga ashiahs@ n ewsrev iew. com
Sthisoffering opioid addiction treatment early year in Oroville, site administrator ince Ampla Health launched its first clinic
Suzanne Dolan has “seen a huge transformation” in its patients. “They’re not coming in seeking drugs. They’re seeking help and they’re appreciative, they’re grateful and they’re thankful,” she told the CN&R. The clinic specializes in prescribing buprenorphine, also known by the brand name Suboxone, an opioid medication used to treat addiction. The service, offered via what Ampla calls an Alpha Recovery Center, is in such demand in Northern California that Ampla already is expanding it less than a year later, thanks to federal
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funding. Butte County has been a hot spot when it comes to the rate of painkillers prescribed per person, and has an aboveaverage opioid-induced death rate in California. With a $200,000 grant from the California Department of Health Care Services’ MAT Access Points program, Ampla will launch Suboxone services at its Lindhurst and Chico clinics and expand services in Oroville and Yuba City. Plus, four full-time opioid use disorder counselors are coming on board, splitting their time across the four locations. Right now, there’s a small pool of patients in treatment at Ampla’s Yuba City clinic and 45 in Oroville, Dolan said. The three doctors at the latter can technically take up to 230 patients, based on their experience prescribing buprenorphine and federal requirements, but workload is a factor. That’s part of why the expansion, which aims to have more Ampla doctors
become certified prescribers, will be so beneficial, Dolan said. She’s also relieved because the patient load increased so rapidly the clinic has desperately needed more counseling services (it has one part-time counselor currently). “The need is definitely here in Butte County,” she said. “When our patients were on these [pain] medications, we had no way to get them off of it besides weaning them off or cold-turkeying them, and that didn’t work. … We don’t want to push our patients away; we want to support and help them in any way we can.” Dr. Lance Lee had already been prescribing buprenorphine to patients in Oregon a year before accepting a job with Ampla at its Oroville clinic. In fact, when they brought him on board about a year ago, he said, they specifically asked him to help launch their program. He said it took about six months to get the electronic system up and running and train staff, but “the program has steadily grown since then.” Speaking to the need of the program, Lee said he has noticed several patients seek treatment after receiving Suboxone illegally from a friend during withdrawal. “That’s what brought them in, and now they want to get clean and have been sticking with the program,” Lee said. It’s also been an avenue to establish regular health care for these patients. In addition to opioid use disorder counseling, Lee said he likes to become his patients’ primary care provider as well.
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AppoinTMenT
Go natural Healthy, seasonal food is key to good health, and here in Chico we have four days a week to stock up. Early Monday evenings you can hit up the Blackbird back patio farm stand for fresh veggies and vegan baked goods. Chico Certified Farmers’ Market offers both a Wednesday morning market near Trader Joe’s and a Saturday morning market downtown filled with delicious fruits and vegetables, fresh juice, bread and more. Lastly, the Thursday Night Market never fails to impress with live music and a wide array of artisan goods, food trucks, flowers and vibrant local produce. What are you waiting for?