Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person's brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medication. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs. When you are addicted, you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes.
Symptoms may include:
Every person’s experience with substance use disorder is unique, so treatment plans are most successful when they’re tailored to individual needs. Summa Health Behavioral Health Institute offers the full spectrum of levels of care for treatment.
This 14-bed, acute care inpatient unit provides alcohol and chemical dependency detoxification for adults. Each room is private. The unit contains two rooms respectively designed to host group activities and provide addiction-focused education. Continued treatment is offered through our Summa Health Addiction Medicine Intensive Outpatient Program or referral to other community resources.
The First Step addiction program at Summa Health’s Akron, Barberton, Green and Wadsworth Emergency Departments (ED), made available through a partnership with the United Way of Summit County and other community agencies, allows patients to receive help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The First Step addiction program initiates addiction treatment right in the ED. In a single visit, we can treat your symptoms and ease cravings, as well as provide onsite care coordination to ensure that you don’t leave our hospital without the next treatment option in place.
This program provides care and assistance for individuals looking for:
Learn more here.
Some patients need support for substance use disorder on an outpatient basis. Summa Health Behavioral Health Institute offers several options.
The Summa Health Addiction Medicine Intensive Outpatient Program is a group therapy treatment program for those with alcohol or substance use disorder diagnoses. Available days or evenings, the program runs three days a week, three hours a day, for an average of 15 to 20 sessions. There also is a dual diagnosis track for those whose addiction recovery is significantly impacted by mental health symptoms of depression, anxiety and trauma. Summa Health’s program supports both abstinence-based and harm-reduction treatment programs. Summa Health encourages the use of the 12-step recovery model, as well as family involvement in the treatment process.
Summa Health offers a broad spectrum of specialized addiction services, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT). MAT uses approved medications, in combination with counseling, to provide a “whole-patient” approach to treat those addicted to substances such as alcohol, opioids and methamphetamines. In general, MAT works in the brain to manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings. In conjunction with the team of addiction medicine physicians providing medication-assisted treatment in an office-based setting, Summa Health also offers a nurse-led injection clinic which provides Vivitrol® (naltrexone) and Sublocade® (buprenorphine) to clinically qualifying patients who desire pharmacological assistance as they progress along the path toward recovery.
To learn more, call the Summa Health Behavioral Health Institute at 330.379.8190.
