The Journey Recovery Center at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, is dedicated to providing addiction services and supporting individuals in their journey towards recovery. Since its establishment in 2015, the center has evolved and expanded its services to address the unique needs of patients with substance use disorders.
We sat down with Dr. Teresa Koeller to learn more about the approach of the Journey Recovery Center, its evidence-based therapies, success stories, and its commitment to providing support for the NKY community.
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LINK nky: When was the Journey Recovery Center established and what is the mission?
Dr. Koeller: “The Journey Recovery Center was started in 2015 with myself, a Registered Nurse, and a medical assistant. We were originally called St. Elizabeth Addiction Medicine and Recovery Center and by 2017, with the support of St. Elizabeth Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Physicians, our team expanded to include therapists, nurse practitioners, doctors, case managers, and peer support specialists. With the expansion in services, we moved to our current location and changed our name to acknowledge our understanding of our patients’ recovery process and to reflect our commitment to helping our patients with the disease of addiction. We often say at Journey Recovery Center ‘Don’t stop believing!’ and we’re committed to that. We’re committed to helping our patients with the disease of addiction change their lives, change their family’s lives, to find meaning and to realize their hopes and aspirations. We treat the whole person, not just the substance use disorder.
Around 2018, St. Elizabeth recognized that approximately 90 percent of our inpatient admissions for long-term IV antibiotics for infections (brain, lung, joints, etc) were due to IV drug use. So, we placed a therapist, case manager, and peer support specialist in the long term care unit twice a week to start therapy and groups. In addition, our doctors met with patients on the unit to provide Medication Assisted Treatment. When COVID-19 hit, the entire Ft. Thomas hospital shifted to provide COVID treatment and we had to close down our unit. In 2021, we opened another unit at the Edgewood location and the team went here. We have also expanded our inpatient inpatient services to include alcohol use disorder and detox.
We have additional programs like the St. Elizabeth Healthcare Baby Steps program for pregnant and parenting women. The Baby Steps Program collaborates with Journey Recovery Center to provide outreach, education, and community support and offer Medication Assisted Treatment, therapy services, and case management.
We have served over 2,672 unique patients since 2021. We apply for grants to assist with adding services and reducing barriers to treatment, such as transportation. We collaborate with the Life Learning Center and Brighton Center through our Lift UP Program to provide our patients with resources for education, jobs, and life skills so they can be successful in recovery and life. We love what we do!”
LINK nky: How does the Journey Recovery Center approach substance use treatment differently from other programs or facilities in the region?
Dr. Koeller: “When we first started, St. Elizabeth partnered with The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation for training and support of medical providers and staff and the community. We strive to be supportive of our community recovery programs and outreach programs. We are educating future doctors through teaching UK/NKU medical students in our office which reduces stigma and improves patient care.
Our goal is to help patients get into recovery and achieve a meaningful recovery with what we refer to as an improvement in their ‘recovery capital’. This includes factors such as employment, housing, transportation, improvement in health and overall well-being. Journey Recovery Center’s team consists of Board Certified physicians in Addiction and Psychiatry, Advanced Practice Registered nurses, independently licensed therapists specializing in addiction, Targeted Case Managers, licensed nurses, and Peer Support Specialists all ensuring comprehensive care. Our peer support specialists provide invaluable support, based on their own recovery experiences, which inspires our patients to believe that recovery is possible and life changing.
It’s amazing what you can do when you have all these wrap-around services and dedicated staff. We help reduce barriers to treatment such as providing resources for housing, transportation, food assistance, and childcare. This allows patients to participate more fully in treatment. I look back at one of my patients from our program. When he first started with us, he didn’t have a job, license, transportation, or GED. If he missed his bus, he would ride a bike from Covington to our office in Edgewood. Now he has his own apartment, a driver’s license, a car, a job, and his GED. We not only look at stopping drug use but also gaining recovery capital – these are all things you get once you get into recovery.”
LINK nky: What specific evidence-based therapies or treatment modalities does the Journey Recovery Center employ to support individuals in their recovery journey?
Dr. Koeller: “We have been innovative in offering new treatments at Journey Recovery Center. We were one of the first programs to offer the Probuphine Implants which were small rods containing Buprenorphine that were inserted into the arm to provide a continuous low dose of Buprenorphine. We offer the NSS Bridge device which uses auricular nerve stimulation to help ease the symptoms of withdrawal. We also offer limited acupuncture for withdrawal symptoms. We provide Medication Assisted Treatment options with Buprenorphine/naloxone, Sublocade (injectable Buprenorphine), and Vivitrol.
From a therapy standpoint, we offer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT),12-Step Facilitated treatment, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Internal Family Systems. We utilize group formats and individual therapy.
We have resources available to help cover the cost of treatment, including accepting major insurances, Medicaid, and Medicare along with grants and support from the St. Elizabeth Foundation.”
LINK nky: Could you discuss the role of the multidisciplinary team at the Journey Recovery Center and how they collaborate to provide comprehensive care for patients?
Dr. Koeller: “The Journey Recovery Center’s multidisciplinary team plays a crucial role in providing care to patients. Each patient meets with a Targeted Case Manager and Peer Support Specialist for intake and then with a therapist for an assessment and determination of level of care based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria. The patient will then meet with the medical provider to determine the need for Medication Assisted Treatment and to determine if there are any health issues that also need to be addressed.
Depending on the level of care assessment, patients may require Intensive Outpatient Programming (IOP) which are three-hour sessions, three days a week, led by licensed therapists. We offer morning, afternoon, and evening IOP groups. We also have medication-assisted treatment groups that meet for about an hour once a week. Then we have our Recovery Basics Group, an eight-week program that meets twice a week and helps individuals who require more assistance than a once a week group, but are not yet ready for an intensive group.
If a patient is struggling or relapses, we work with the patient to help them get back on track and into recovery. We do not have a “one size fits all approach. We emphasize individualized care but the patient does have to engage in therapy services in addition to medication. In order to get into and maintain recovery, you have to make life changes and learn the foundations of recovery.”
LINK nky: In what ways does the Journey Recovery Center address the unique needs of individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders and substance use?
Dr. Koeller: “Our therapists and Psychiatry team are amazing; our nurses and staff are awesome. We get creative with scheduling to get people in really quickly.
If someone calls the office, they talk with a case manager during intake, schedule a new patient visit, fill out paperwork, see a therapist, and see a medical provider for medical intake. Based on the level of care criteria, we’ll make recommendations for either residential, detox, in-hospital, or outpatient care with Journey Recovery Center.
Our goal is to help our patients be successful. That is one thing about St. Elizabeth, we are innovative. We are focused on how we can best serve our patients’ needs in their journey.”
LINK nky: Can you share any success stories or examples of individuals who have benefited from the services and programs offered by the Journey Recovery Center?
Dr. Koeller: “One patient went through Intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) for Opioid Use disorder and did well for a while. Then she relapsed. We recommended she return to IOP but it didn’t fit her life now as she was working full time and had sole custody of her children. Attending three 3-hour groups a week wasn’t possible for her. She committed to participating in two 1- hour groups a week for 3 months and increased her 12 Step meetings and did really well with that. She was able to continue working and taking care of her kids. She is now back in her weekly therapy group and still working and taking care of her children!
Another patient was working but had lost a lot of weight and had stomach problems. He felt terrible when he first started coming to Journey Recovery Center, but started therapy groups, got on medication assisted treatment and stopped using fentanyl and marijuana. He is now seeing a doctor monthly, goes to his therapy group once a week, attends 12 Step meetings every night, is now at a healthy weight and feels great! He now has a car, enjoys his job and is thinking about career advancement!”
To learn more about St. Elizabeth’s Journey Recovery Center, click here.
