NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 3
million young Americans between the ages of 12 and 25 suffer from
drug addiction. Overdose deaths among young people are on the rise.
To address this devastating problem, the Addiction Institute of
Mount Sinai and Center on
Addiction formed a strategic alliance that will invest in
innovative solutions, with a current focus on opioid addiction.
The Addiction Institute of Mount
Sinai and Center on Addiction understand that young people
have complex needs that often go unaddressed by the U.S. addiction
treatment system, which is designed for adults. Through the
collaboration, leading addiction experts will work together to
create innovative, scalable models for treatment, which include
evidence-based screening, preventative practices, and care
specifically tailored to young people with substance use
disorders.
"Parents everywhere are struggling to find addiction treatment
for their children. They simply don't know where to turn," said
Joseph J. Plumeri, Executive Chair
of Center on Addiction and a Mount Sinai Health System trustee.
"Tragically, many of these parents will bury their children—just
like I did—because they failed to find quality care. We have a
moral obligation to provide kids with the highest level of
addiction treatment, just like we would for any other disease."
The Addiction Institute of Mount
Sinai seeks to improve patient care, drawing on the
extensive clinical footprint of the Mount Sinai Health System and
the research strengths in addiction biology of the Icahn School of
Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is
celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Center on
Addiction is an action-oriented nonprofit focused on ending the
addiction epidemic. The alliance combines Mount Sinai's academic and clinical strengths
with Center on Addiction's 26-year legacy of groundbreaking
addiction research.
"Center on Addiction's experience and ability to guide providers
in the adoption of evidence-based practices will complement the
progressive research being conducted by our experts at the
internationally renowned Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai, where we are expanding the
biological understanding of addiction and helping to develop new
treatments," said Yasmin Hurd, PhD,
Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience at the Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
and Director of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai. "This collaboration will result
in significant breakthroughs that advance addiction research and
care for young people and their families impacted by substance use
disorders, which is especially important amid the largest drug
epidemic in U.S. history."
There is a pressing need to develop practical and effective
models for screening and intervention for youth, because most cases
of drug addiction begin with drug use before age 21. Screening for
substance use during primary care visits offers an opportunity to
open an essential conversation with young people and parents about
substance use and share prevention messages. It can also initiate
the treatment process for those with a substance use disorder. Over
the next three years, alliance team members will work to develop
exemplary models for effective screening and intervention in these
settings.
In addition, the alliance will develop and scale treatment
interventions that address the specific needs of young adults with
opioid use disorders. Data show a large, new wave of young adults
with opioid use disorder who are not benefiting from the most
effective treatments. If not treated early, opioid use disorder can
last a long time and lead to social impairments such as
unemployment, crime, disability, and a high morbidity rate. Yet
only a third of young adults are being treated with U.S. Food and
Drug Administration-approved medications that are widely considered
to be the gold standard for adults. According to anecdotal reports,
young adults may not be entering traditional treatment programs
because services are not provided in a way that appeals to
them.
To address the pressing need for more attractive and effective
treatments that could prevent a lifetime of morbidity for young
people, the alliance will work to develop new models for treating
opioid use disorder in that group. These new models will
incorporate shared decision-making regarding medications, patient
preferences, the use of technology, psychosocial treatment, and
family involvement in care. Scientific advances at Mount Sinai, including advanced neuroimaging
modalities and other biological markers that can help to identify
individuals at risk, the use of app technologies, and data on
non-addictive medications, will help inform and shape new treatment
and management interventions.
Through the new strategic affiliation with the Addiction
Institute of Mount Sinai, Center
on Addiction is advancing its mission to ensure that no family
loses a child to substance use by promoting evidence-based
addiction care and making it accessible and affordable to
everyone.
"We are thrilled to be joining forces with the remarkable people
from Center on Addiction who work tirelessly to safeguard youth and
support families impacted by substance abuse disorders," said
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for
Academic and Scientific Affairs, Director of The Friedman Brain
Institute, and Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience at the Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
"Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest integrated health
systems in the country and also the largest treatment system for
substance use disorders in New
York, making it an ideal platform for developing new
approaches to address an epidemic that is plaguing our youth today.
Working together, we will draw on the shared goals, experience and
expertise of two institutions that have strong reputations for
addressing these devastating conditions in both the lab and in the
clinic so we may stop the deep suffering so many young people and
their families endure."
The alliance officially launched on Thursday, October 11, with a kickoff panel
discussion and reception at The Mount Sinai Hospital. The event,
moderated by Young People in Recovery President and CEO
Justin Luke Riley, featured
prominent experts and advocates for addiction prevention who
explored the complexities of and innovative solutions for providing
treatment to young adults with addiction.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai
Health System is New York City's
largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital
campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of
ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest
care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best
access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The
System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care
physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than
140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of
New York City, Westchester, Long
Island, and Florida; and 31
affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine
is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by
multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News &
World Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S.
News & World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, it is ranked
as a leading medical school for National Institutes of Health
funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions
as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation
Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in
education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai
Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report's
"Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top
20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Gastroenterology/GI
Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in
the top 50 in six other specialties in the 2018-2019 "Best
Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's
Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of
ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report.
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for
Ophthalmology and 44th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai
Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's and Mount Sinai West are ranked
regionally. For more information,
visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube.
About Center on Addiction
Center on Addiction is a
science-based nonprofit focused on improving the understanding,
prevention and treatment of addiction. Founded in 1992 by former
U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr., our purpose is to find,
promote and enact the necessary solutions to address America's
deadly addiction crisis. For more information, visit
www.centeronaddiction.org.
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SOURCE Center on Addiction