Corrections_Today_Summer_2024_Vol.86_No.2

Health Care Special Session & Luncheon

“We have advisories, quick guides to help you screen for these conditions and also where to point your clients for resources. Not just advi sories for particular substances but also what treatments are most effective and how to imple ment them.” He also pointed out there are centers of excel lence and technical assistance in every region, and they can help if you want to implement a type of therapy in your facility. Next, he went into some statistics on the types of substances which are most prevalent including alcohol and tobacco use. However, as he stated:

“Fentanyl is driving the opioid crisis.” Adulteration of other drugs with fentanyl makes it harder to diagnose and harder for fami lies and first responders to respond as well. Dr. Gandotra is an addiction psychiatrist but he started as a psychiatrist, so he is focused on aspects of general mental health as well as sub stance use disorders. “Mental illness carries stigma. There’s a lot of individuals who suffer silently. If individuals aren’t aware that they have the condition or those around them don’t screen for it then they can’t get the treatment they need. About 35-40% of individuals with severe mental health issues are not in treatment,’ he declared. An important point he made at this time was about how to treat co-occurring mental health disorders and substance use disorders. Although he acknowledged its difficulty, he told the crowd the “Most important thing is we don’t ignore one in lieu of the other. We have to treat them concur rently if possible.” Finally, he asked all corrections officials for assistance. “Our principle is we can’t dictate from Washing ton, D.C. what you need. What is important to you, so we need to hear from you,” he concluded. CT

— BY KIRK RAYMOND

ACA 2024 WINTER CONFERENCE

Corrections Today | Summer 2024

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