I suggested that in every 12 Step program the focus should shift to working Step 12.
Of course this is the toughest one of all and that's why most never get there. Not only are the counselors unable to deal with this but the system petpetuates itself by keeping affected people about Step 4. In reality this is undermining the issue for the sake of keeping a job or a program alive.
I come by my comments honestly. I worked in chemical dependency programs for both children and adults.
The worst was a program for adolescents where the woman in charge of delivering nursing care was complicit in abuse of the patients and in the insurance fraud that was on-going as well as sexually harassing minor children, manufacturing chart data and supporting drug dealing by the staff as examples. Much of her activities were focused on keeping her job. Her actions were protected by the state because whe had an "in" with certain members of the state nurses' association. She now is offering family and marital therapy as an "advanced practice nurse" in the Mt. Vernon-Bellingham area of Washington state.
As far as health, drugs and alcohol deplete many key nutrients that set you up for severe health problems and even more severe durgs that lead to more severe side effects and more nutrient depletions.
Don't you wish someone in your health care system was providing you with this information?
Alcohol, drug abuse impairs treatment - June 26, 2008
Fourteen percent of patients admitted to the hospital have alcohol, drug abuse and addiction disorders, U.S. researchers said. Patricia B. Santora and Heidi E. Hutton of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore analyzed 43,000 patients with alcohol/drug abuse and addiction disorders -- mainly in addition to other medical diagnoses -- who were admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1994 to 2002. About one-half of the patients used a combination of two or more drugs, one-fourth used alcohol only, and the rest used opioids such as heroin or cocaine only.
The number of opioid abusers rose sharply during the period studied, reflecting the recent resurgence of heroin in Baltimore. Patients on Medicaid/Medicare and uninsured patients were more likely to have drug addictions, while patients with private insurance were more likely to abuse alcohol only, the researchers said.
However, the study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, said about 1 percent of patients had an alcohol/drug abuse and addiction disorders as their only diagnosis -- the remaining 99 percent had other medical problems as well. The researchers said healthcare providers should screen for alcohol and drug abuse and provide intervention because it increases the likelihood that patients will not follow their prescribed care.
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