Center for Addiction Treatment

Adam Coey, Summer 2015

My Urban Health Project site for the summer was the Center for Addiction Treatment (CAT — formerly the Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment, CCAT). I learned so much and gained a lot of great experience that I could not have gotten with any other program or working at any other site. This exposure to addiction showed me just how much there is to battling the disease. The first thing I learned was that addiction is, in fact, a disease. It is frequently compared to type 2 diabetes because it involves both a genetic predisposition and behavioral factors that can completely change the way a system functions. Addiction is not a moral issue or a personal failure; it is a real disease that unfortunately carries a heavy stigma, and people suffering from it need all the help that they can get.

I was one of two UHP interns at CAT this summer, and having multiple interns allowed us to work together on more and different projects than one intern could have done alone. My favorite thing about our work this summer is that we were able to help make a difference directly with both CAT itself and with its patient population. Many of our projects had to do with all of the changes taking place at CAT right now. There are plans to build a second building on campus to have space for mental health services and a family medicine practice. Also, in addition to an official name change, CAT has a brand new logo and is developing a new website. We helped CAT with its application to become certified to provide mental health services and spent a substantial amount of time reworking and reorganizing content for the new website. I am very glad to have been able to help CAT by working on a project that will have a lasting impact there. Another project we worked on was implementing hepatitis B and C screening for the several hundred patients in CAT's medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program. The at-risk population of IV drug users in the MAT program can significantly benefit from hepatitis screening, education, and treatment if needed. I loved being able to work on a project that could both help patients and help the community by working to reduce the spread of hepatitis. In addition to these projects, we were able to learn a great deal about addiction by shadowing physicians and nurses and sitting in on small group meetings with patients.

I learned so much from my time spent immersed in the world of addiction, treatment, and recovery at CAT. I truly enjoyed my experience there, and I know that the valuable lessons I have learned from my time at CAT will only serve to make me a more understanding and skilled physician in the future.