Holcomb announces free, online, state-backed addiction treatment dashboard
EVANSVILLE — Nearly 500,000 Hoosiers suffer from a substance use disorder, but obtaining affordable, high-quality treatment is no easy task. Gov. Eric J. Holcomb hopes to change that with a new, state-backed program.
The "first of its kind" initiative, as the governor's office described it in a news release, takes the form of a free, confidential online service known as Treatment Atlas.
According to governor's office spokeswoman Erin Murphy, the Shatterproof Treatment Atlas program is already live. You can view it online at treatmentatlas.org.
Shatterproof's online tool grants users the ability to compare upward of 605 certified addiction treatment facilities on an online dashboard.
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The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction will fund the Shatterproof program in Indiana. The website's dashboard will supplant Indiana's prior addiction treatment center locator.
"Hoosiers with substance use disorder deserve timely access to quality care as soon as they’re ready to accept help, Holcomb said in a statement. "Treatment Atlas puts recovery within immediate reach, giving Hoosiers and their loved ones a trusted resource to find evidence-based, high-quality treatment that meets their unique needs, anywhere in the state."
The interactive website offers s 10-question survey that can tailor a person's treatment options to fit their specific needs. Treatment Atlas measures each facility's use of evidence-based practices − such as medication-assisted treatment − and users can filter the types of facilities they are searching for based on a variety of metrics.
“Prior to Treatment Atlas, there was no easy way for Hoosiers to access this level of transparency when seeking (substance-use disorder) treatment,” said Douglas Huntsinger, executive director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement for the State of Indiana. “We can have all the parts and pieces of an expansive recovery infrastructure, but people need to know how to access them. Indiana is proud to bring this national solution to Hoosiers.”
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State agencies and their employees - such as police officers, public defenders and crisis response teams - were trained on how to operate the dashboard prior to its launch, according to Murphy.
Additional treatment resources can still be viewed on the Division of Mental Health website.
Those suffering from a substance use disorder, or those who would like to acquire information for a loved one suffering from addiction, can contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
If you or someone you know suffers from a substance use disorder, you can receive additional guidance from SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357. The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Last year, drug overdoses killed 2,751 people in Indiana. In Vanderburgh County, the total was 43. According to Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear, highly potent fentanyl has contributed to a long-term increase in the number of residents who succumb to a fatal overdose each year.
Those figures are broadly in line with national trends: In 2022, 110,000 Americans were killed by drug overdose.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Holcomb announces free, online, addiction treatment dashboard
