Gunnison Valley Health Offers Programs to Help with Substance Abuse

According to the Colorado Naloxone Project 1,477 Coloradans died from an overdose in 2020. This is a 38% increase from 2019. As a part of Gunnison Valley Health’s ongoing commitment to behavioral health support in the community, we are excited to offer several programs designed to decrease opioid deaths.   

Gunnison Valley Health partners with the Colorado Naloxone Project to offer free Naloxone for anyone at risk of an opioid overdose. The program allows at risk individuals, or individuals from an at-risk home to take home Naloxone following a visit to the emergency department.  

Naloxone (also known by the drug name, Narcan) is a lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. There are several forms of Naloxone, and it is all extremely easy to use. Naloxone is not addictive, and it will not hurt the patient if used on a person who is not overdosing.   

Gunnison Valley Health also offers Medication Assisted Treatment in the Emergency Department. The program allows Buprenorphine to be prescribed to the appropriate patients while in the emergency department. Buprenorphine is a long-acting drug that helps those who are detoxing – specifically from opioids. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Buprenorphine diminishes the effects of physical dependency to opioids, such as withdrawal symptoms and cravings, increases the safety in cases of overdose, and lowers the potential for misuse. It cannot be taken if you have used recently, and patients cannot use opioids while taking the medicine.   

The Medication Assisted Treatment program in the emergency department can prescribe patients Buprenorphine in order to bridge the gap between the emergency room and when the patient can be seen in the Front Range Clinic program. Medication Assisted Treatment with the Front Range Clinic combines medicine and therapy to take a whole patient approach to the treatment of substance abuse disorders. The clinic is held on Mondays and Fridays in Gunnison from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. No referral is needed, and it is open to anyone seeking to recover from addiction. To schedule an appointment with the Front Range Clinic, call 970-644-5303.  

To learn more about these programs you can visit the emergency Department website at www.GunnisonValleyHealth.org/EmergencyDepartment. If you or a loved one needs access to Naloxone, you can visit any pharmacy in Colorado and have it given to you right away.