Center for Addiction Treatment

Cody VanLinge, Summer 2017

My summer was spent at the Center for Addiction Treatment working mainly in the Suboxone outpatient clinic and as an observer in the inpatient clinic working alongside Dr. Deborah Frankowski. In the outpatient setting I undertook a variety of tasks. These tasks included calling patients to remind them of an upcoming appointment, gathering patient charts for the physician, and sitting in on their medical check-up with the physician. My inpatient tasks were more limited, but allowed me greater insight into the lives of those suffering from addiction. I would watch Dr. Frankowski perform a physical on the newly admitted patients and record the level of their withdrawal symptoms as well as their history with opiate addiction. After having spent a week performing these various duties, I began to contemplate upon possible projects that I could assist with. The main objective of my project was to analyze the various biopsychosocial information provided by the Center for Addiction Treatment’s (CAT) outpatient charts and self-designed “CAT Addiction Management and Wellness Assessment” surveys to identify any potential variables that may lead to better outcomes of recovery from opiate addiction. Upon examination of this data it was discovered that employment and spiritual/religious beliefs were associated with longer durations of sobriety. With the knowledge of these statistically significant results, improvements in treatment strategies can be discussed and implemented. After completion of my time at CAT, I gained invaluable insight into the lives of individuals suffering from addiction as well as the family and friends around them that were also affected by it.