{"id":126176,"date":"2023-12-20T18:33:37","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T23:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=126176"},"modified":"2023-12-20T18:34:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T23:34:37","slug":"treatment-and-recovery-programs-bring-hope-to-addicts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=126176","title":{"rendered":"Treatment and Recovery Programs Bring Hope to Addicts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0<\/strong>THINK<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within four years of her high school graduation, Samantha Bixler transformed from an honors student and athlete into a poster child for the nation\u2019s struggle with drug addiction. She survived and is now thriving, and her path to a happier, healthier life is strong evidence that treatment and recovery programs work.<\/p>\n

It took four years of addiction to opioid painkillers and heroin to transform Samantha Bixler from a wholesome, high school honors student and athlete with a bright future into a drug-addicted 22-year-old hospital ventilator patient with a 10% chance of survival.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the 2005 Palmyra High School graduate\u2019s story did not end in an intensive care unit.<\/p>\n

Today, Samantha Osterlof \u2013 her married name \u2013 is a wife, working mother of three and a passionate advocate for treatment and recovery programs like the one that she said saved her life.<\/p>\n

In 2021, more than 46 million Americans had at least one substance use disorder, while just more than 6% had treatment, according to the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

About 107,000 people died. The economic burden of drug-related productivity losses, medical costs, crime, and more, is close to $530 billion, according to Georgetown University\u2019s Health Policy Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime is the right time for companies to open up a clear dialogue with employees about the issue. Put it out there. Let it become a topic of discussion. The more we talk about it, the more we work to reduce the stigma and support treatment and recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capital Blue Cross\u2019 Health Promotion and Wellness team works with employer groups on ways to create awareness of substance use disorders.<\/p>\n

Some companies, including Capital, offer an employee assistance program (EAP) that makes it easy for employees to access mental health professionals for any issue.<\/p>\n

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders Services Administration (SAMSHA)\u00a0publishes an evidence-based resource guide<\/a>\u00a0that educates employers on the merits of creating recovery-friendly employment policies.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration\u2019s American Rescue Plan created, among other things, a\u00a0Recovery-Ready Workplace Resource hub<\/a>\u00a0through the Department of Labor.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust letting the employee know that their recovery comes first is important,\u201d Batzler said.<\/p>\n

Osterlof\u2019s 10-year addiction took her right to the cliff\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

A 37-day stay at an addiction treatment center, seven months of outpatient therapy and group meetings pulled her back from that edge, and a lifetime of being in recovery will keep her from falling down again.<\/p>\n

Clean and with a new chance at life, Osterlof set out to redefine herself.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

She earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice from Elizabethtown College in 2016, and a master\u2019s degree in criminal justice and behavior management from Saint Joseph\u2019s University in 2017, all while working as an outreach specialist and therapist at the same recovery facility that helped save her life.<\/p>\n

In March took a position as a marketing director with a company that specializes in outpatient treatment and recovery at several locations in southeast Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

She is certified as both a recovery specialist and a family recovery specialist and is an approved trainer who works with the Pennsylvania State Police and other organizations.<\/p>\n

The tragedy of substance use disorder is well documented. By eagerly sharing her story of addiction and recovery, Osterlof hopes to let the world hear another message.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything good in my life today I have as a result of my recovery,\u201d said Osterlof, who hasn\u2019t taken a mood or mind altering substance since Dec. 21, 2011. \u201cThe message is hope. The promise is freedom. Treatment works, and recovery is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can find more useful articles at <\/strong>https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nJERRY REIMENSCHNEIDER
\nSenior Public Relations Specialist | Brand & Market Strategy
\nhttps:\/\/www.capbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0THINK\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on … Continue reading Treatment and Recovery Programs Bring Hope to Addicts<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482,5742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2","category-think"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sam.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}