Tompkins Weekly

Expansion, new resources coming to Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services



 

 

Cayuga Addiction Recover Services (CARS) is expanding in 2020, offering more services for county residents and beyond.

CARS has had a co-ed residential facility at 6621 Rt. 227 in Trumansburg for over 15 years, and with consistent waiting lists and growing demand for services, it was clear there was demand for growth, said Brad Walworth, CARS outreach specialist. That is exactly why CARS is planning a new all-women’s residential facility to be built adjacent to its current residence (rendering shown above).

“What we see is there are always more men needing these kinds of services at this level of treatment than women, so to expand the facilities just make sense,” Walworth said.

The all-women’s facility will have 25 beds, in contrast to the current facility’s 60 beds, reflecting that ratio. Though the 60-bed facility will switch to all-men, the two facilities will likely share some programs, Walworth said.

CARS is currently in the zoning and approval process for the project, and the facility is set to be complete by the end of this year.

In addition to the planned facility, CARS recently added an opioid treatment program (OTP) to its downtown outpatient center earlier this month. The new OTP services include new OTP-specific medical department, which includes nursing (RNs and LPNs) so that clients/patients can be given their MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) doses on site by OTP nursing Monday through Saturday Mornings (six dosing days) and a take-home dose for Sundays.

Medication options included in the OTP program include Methadone, Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, Vivitrol and Sublocade. Physical exams and medication monitoring for the OTP program are available through a nurse practitioner and doctor.

The OTP is in contrast to the existing outpatient program (OP), which does not have the range of medication options that the OTP program does and does not include client/patient medication dosing on site at CARS. Both the OTP and OP provide individual and small group addiction counseling on site and access to peer advocates.

For both the residential center and the OTP services, Walworth said it’s a slow process to get everything up and running.

“We’ve got all the systems in place,” Walworth said. “It’s just actually doing it, seeing how it works and really just building from there.”

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