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media advisory – albany county correctional facility to add opioid treatment medications to sharp program

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Contact: Yan Snead ysnead@katalcenter.org (518) 360-1534

January 18th, 2019: Albany County Correctional Facility to Add Opioid Treatment Medications to SHARP Program

With seven consecutive years of increasing overdose deaths, Sheriff Craig Apple and area partners to implement coordinated treatment approach using buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone.

Albany, NY: On January 18thSheriff Craig Apple Sr., along with CFG Health Systems and local partners will hold a press conference to announce additional evidence-based treatment options available within the County Correctional Facility. With this expansion, Albany County becomes the first facility to offer the comprehensive, coordinated use of all three recognized Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), or Medication Assisted Recovery (MAR) medications outside of downstate New York.

Building on the innovative work being done through the Sheriff’s Heroin Addiction Recovery Program (SHARP), this effort will be a multi-step process beginning January 22nd, 2019.

WHAT: Press Conference at Albany County Correctional Facility

WHEN: Friday, January 18th, 2019 at 10:00 AM

WHERE: Albany County Correctional Facility

WHO: Albany County Sheriff’s Department; CFG Health Systems; NY State Department of Health AIDS Institute; NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services; Catholic Charities Care Coordination Services; Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice; Conifer Park; Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Services

Nationally, overdose is the leading cause of death for people under 50, and the crisis is taking more lives a year than car crashes or gun deaths.  In New York State, overdose now takes more lives than suicides, homicides, and traffic accidents combined. From 2013 to 2015, 7,213 New Yorkers died of overdose. The broader impact of opioid misuse and addiction on individuals, families, and communities, including Albany County has been immeasurable.

Taking a health approach to this crisis requires that evidence-based care and treatment be offered in as many settings as possible. Available research shows that use of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) tools such as buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone within correctional settings decreases the rates of overdose post-release, improves connectivity to care and treatment, and improves psychosocial outcomes.

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