National Drug Treatment Quality Improvement Program Adds 13 New Sites

Paths to Recovery, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced today that 13 community-based addiction treatment organizations have received funding to participate in a unique "learning collaborative" to improve access to and retention in addiction treatment. The collaborative – Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) – is a partnership between Paths to Recovery, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's Strengthening Treatment Access and Retention (STAR) program, and a number of independent addiction treatment organizations.

The 13 treatment organizations joining the initiative (see attached list) will learn how to make improvements in their day-to-day practices to better serve their clients more efficiently and appropriately based on their individual needs. The added sites selected are located throughout the country, ranging from rural to urban communities and serving a variety of clients.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than 19 million Americans are in need of addiction treatment each year. Fewer than one in four people addicted to alcohol or drugs receive treatment with as many as half of those who do access services either abandoning their programs or being turned away before the full benefits of medical treatment can be realized.

"We've found that often the real issue keeping patients from treatment is the way that services are delivered," explains David Gustafson, director of the NIATx initiative. "Between the patient and care lies a canyon of paperwork and burdensome processes that get in the way. This is the issue being addressed by each organization participating in the NIATx initiative."

"The goal of the project," according to Victor Capoccia, RWJF senior program officer, "is to improve the quality of treatment services received by admitting people in a timely fashion and providing quality care for an appropriate amount of time. We do that by redesigning systems that get people into a program early and allow them to stay longer, which increases the probability that recovery will occur."

Using customer-focused business practices, the NIATx collaborative has succeeded in reducing wait times and no-show rates and increasing admissions and continuation in treatment. By using peer networking and education to promote a customer-focused culture in treatment programs, NIATx collaborative organizations have achieved dramatic results. Among participating organizations, the average time to assessment was cut 72 percent, time to treatment was cut in half, and patient retention (through four sessions) increased 123 percent.

For more information about the NIATx project and the selected substance abuse treatment sites, please visit www.NIATx.net.

New Paths to Recovery Members of NIATx

ASIAN COUNSELING AND REFERRAL SERVICE

720 8th Avenue South
Suite 200
Seattle, WA 98104
206-695-7632
Ms. Janet Soohoo, Deputy Director
janets@acrs.org

CENTRAL NEW YORK SERVICES

518 James Street
Suite 240
Syracuse, New York 13203
315-478-2453
John Warren, Executive Director
jwarren@cnyservices.org

CODA, INC.

1027 E. Burnside Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
503-239-8400
Ms. Janet Lee Bardossi, Deputy Director
503-239-8400 x 216
janetbardossi@codainc.org

CORNERSTONE COUNSELING CENTER

660 South 200 East, Suite 308
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801-355-2846/Fax: 801-359-3244
Gary Baker, Executive Director
gbaker@cornerstoneslc.com

FAYETTE COMPANIES

600 Fayette Street
Peoria, IL 61603
309-671-8025
Michael Boyle, Executive Vice President
mboyle@fayettecompanies.org

GATEWAY TO PREVENTION AND RECOVERY

1010 E. 45th Street
Shawnee, OK 74804
405-273-1170
Mrs. Sarah E. McLaughlin, Executive Director
405-273-1170 x 120
semclaughlin@gatewaytoprevention.org

MID-EASTERN COUNCIL ON CHEMICAL ABUSE

430 Southgate Avenue
Iowa City, IA 52240
319-351-4357
Mr. Arthur J. Schut, President and CEO
319-351-4357
aschut@meccaia.com

PALLADIA, INC.

10 Astor Place, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10003
212-979-8800
Ms. Jane Velez, President
Jane.velez@palladiainc.org

SIGNAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NETWORK

1391 Speer Boulevard, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80204
303-639-9320
Mr. Bill Wendt, Chief Executive Officer
303-639-9320 x 1014
bwendt@signalbhn.org

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ADDICTION SERVICES, INC.

2101 McGregor Blvd
Fort Myers, FL 33901
239-332-6937
Mr. Kevin B. Lewis, Executive Director
klewis@swfas.org

SSTAR

386 Stanley Street
Fall River, MA 02720
508-324-3500
Ms. Nancy E. Paull, CEO
npaull@sstar.org

STEPS AT LIBERTY CENTER

104 Spink Street
Wooster, OH 44691
330-264-8408
Ms. Bobbi E. Douglas, Executive Director
douglasb@steps-ewh.org

WOMEN'S RECOVERY ASSOCIATION

1450 Chapin Ave, 1st Floor
Burlingame, CA 94010
650-348-6603/Fax: 650-348-0615
Jolie Bou, Executive Director
650-348-6603
jbou@womensrecovery.org

---

NIATx is a national initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) designed to strengthen the addiction treatment field's ability to significantly and continuously improve the care processes that facilitate patient access to and retention in treatment programs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse treatment is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health service delivery systems.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It concentrates its grantmaking in four goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access to quality health care at reasonable cost; to improve the quality of care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse - tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs.