Gibson Area Hospital & Health Services

The focus of Psychostimulant Support Services for East Central Illinois is to address the following areas 1. Co-occurring disorders (COD) including opioid plus methamphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy 2. The reduction of harm to those afflicted with COD and their families/caregivers. 3. Co-occurring physical comorbidities associated with those with psychostimulant disorder. Those individuals who have a history of, or who are at risk for, SUD/OUD and other psychostimulants disorders, and those who present with mental illness issues co-occurring with psychostimulant disorders will be the focus group of this Project. There are many urban-rural differences that contribute to these problems. For example, there may be a lack of emergency naloxone devices in rural markets and travel time can be significantly higher for first responders to reach individuals needing help. There are typically fewer substance abuse treatment providers and facilities in rural communities, [which is the case in this service area]. Many rural communities have socio-demographic vulnerabilities [and in the case of this service area many other social determinants of health] that are contributing factors to the opioid crisis. Rural communities are typically tight knit; therefore, stigma is both an obstacle and a challenge. Stigma often prevents struggling individuals from seeking help and healthcare providers from integrating treatment into their practices. Stigma may be the obstacle that hinders a community’s capacity to address the opioid epidemic. These issues are compounded many times over because of a lack of familial support, poverty, and the overarching addiction related issues. This nation-wide public health crisis has been elevated to emergency status.