January 31, 2019 – –

Wichita Falls, TX – At year-end, businesses have confidence in the economy, with most predicting no recession in 2019 explains a staffing company in Wichita Falls.

In the December survey of 445 businesses, only 1 percent of respondents expect a recession in the next three months, while 8 percent expect one in three to six months. Less than one-quarter (24 percent) believe a recession will arrive in the second half of the year.

While media predictions of a recession have increased in recent months, signs of a strong economy abound:

-Unemployment is near record lows at 3.7 percent.

-Real GDP increased 4.3 percent in the third quarter.

-Express Employment Professionals has 16,500 open positions to fill.

-There are more than 7 million job openings across the United States.

Express experts expect steady growth in 2019. Janis Petrini, an Express Employment Professionals franchise owner in Grand Rapids, Michigan, says fears of a recession are overblown.

“The outlook is very similar to what we expected in 2018,” she said. “Growth and demand continue to remain strong. There is a significant amount of ‘talk’ around a recession or adjustment, but this mostly seems media driven as opposed to hard facts and actual experts within individual industries. Most clients see their own industry remaining strong. There may be some slowdown in the automotive sector, but this will be more of the industry returning to normal as opposed to receding.”

Over in Illinois, Terri Greeno, an Express franchise owner in Crystal Lake, notes that “2018 felt hotter” but that she still sees a “steady, slight uptick after the first quarter.”

“I know some people are uneasy at the end of 2018,” said Bill Stoller, CEO of Express. “But when you look at the big picture, the American economy will begin 2019 on a strong footing. Even with such low unemployment, we have an abundance of jobs to fill, and wages have been on the rise. Clearly, there are concerns about what may happen toward the end of 2019, and there are always external forces beyond our control. For now, though, I’m predicting a happy economic new year.”

The survey of 445 businesses, which are current and former clients of Express Employment Professionals, was conducted in December 2018 to gauge respondents’ expectations for 2019.

The temp agency in Wichita Falls is located at 3612 Kemp Blvd, Wichita Falls, TX 76308. Local companies and job seekers can stop by the office, call (940) 691-8367 or visit online at www.expresspros.com/WichitaFallsTX.

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For more information about Express Employment Professionals-Wichita Falls, TX, contact the company here:

Express Employment Professionals-Wichita Falls, TX
Tandy Kimbro
(940) 217-3308
Jobs.WichitaFallsTX@ExpressPros.com
3612 Kemp Blvd
Wichita Falls, TX 76308

ReleaseID: 60024892

January 31, 2019 – – SAMHSA will take a new approach to serious mental illness, shifting efforts in the agency to focus on major issues affecting this population. These efforts will include providing evidence-based psychiatric treatment and supporting a collaborative care model with community resource providers, including peers and organizations that provide recovery supports. SAMHSA will receive support for these efforts through the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee, which is a public-federal partnership that aims to improve services to adults living with serious mental illness and to young people living with serious emotional disturbance and their families.

SAMHSA is an acronym for the US government agency, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation.

SAMHSA will continue and expand programs designed to address mental illness in America, including suicide, which continues to take tens of thousands of lives every year. SAMHSA will help expand suicide prevention programs that also fund organizations that implement Zero Suicide, a program to train health care providers on how to ask about suicidality and make safety plans to get people to the necessary care. SAMHSA continues its mental health court programs and has new programs offering diversion prior to arrest. AOT is now funded in several sites, but more must be done to educate providers and the public about the value of AOT programs with enriched psychosocial services. Further, a new program of assertive community treatment will be funded in 2018. One of the major successes clinics have had recently at SAMHSA was the appropriation of additional funding for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, which require integrated care for mental and substance use disorders as well as for general health care. These programs, already established as demonstration programs in eight states, will be expanded to community organizations that will be able to provide the required integrated services and crisis services; peer and family supports; and psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation services. This is a very exciting development because integrated care is the model that should be pursued for American health care in general but is particularly important for those with disabling mental disorders.

These are important times for establishing new models that will use evidence-based care to manage the needs of Americans experiencing serious mental illness and substance use disorders. SAMHSA will play a key role in establishing these new care approaches and in preparing the behavioral health workforce. “It is personally gratifying for me to have the opportunity to serve our people in this new role. I look forward to both the challenges and the metamorphosis of our healthcare system for those living with mental and substance use disorders in the United States,” a representative said.

SAMHSA is working to completely restructure technical assistance and training. They are building a national system of resources that will be available at no cost, or at most low cost (e.g., payment for continuing education credits, small fees for training taking place at venues that must be rented), to any individual or program wishing to take advantage of them. SAMHSA grantees will now have funding built into their grants that permits them to identify training or technical assistance needed and to purchase that training should it not be available through the national network. Funds not used for training can be used to provide more services as described in the grant proposal.

The clinical support system will also offer a course on assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). This system is replicated in the opioids area with the well-established Providers’ Clinical Support System for Medication-Assisted Treatment, which provides the majority of the Drug Abuse Treatment Act (DATA) waiver trainings, ongoing continuing education, and mentoring for practitioners.

The largest change in technical assistance is the establishment of new technology transfer centers in prevention of substance use disorders and serious mental illness. SAMHSA has issued funding announcements encouraging applications for these centers, which will be placed in each of the 10 DHHS regions, thus providing national coverage, as well as for centers focused on tribal needs and Hispanic/Latino needs. These newly established centers will work collaboratively in their regions, with each other, and with the existing addiction technology transfer centers to ensure that training needs of health care providers are being met. With these centers, all health care providers and organizations can participate in educational programs that will improve their abilities to serve the mental health and substance use disorder needs of Americans, and in doing so, will serve the nation rather than only select grantees.

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For more information about Brentwood Rehabilitation Detox, contact the company here:

Brentwood Rehabilitation Detox
631-601-1845
Brentwood, NY 11717

ReleaseID: 60024874

January 30, 2019 – – Rehabilitation Detox of Bluffview, a national leader in addiction treatment and rehabilitation, applauds House and Senate leaders for reaching an agreement on legislation that would address the national opioid crisis and the larger addiction epidemic in America.

With overdose deaths involving prescription opioids rising to five times higher in 2016 than in 1999, it has never been more pertinent to increase prevention, support research around disease of addiction and provide education of drug awareness at an early age.

The legislation, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (HR 6), overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate and will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature. This bill will boost access to addiction treatment and employ many other interventions to mitigate the epidemic, such as combating overprescription and increasing law enforcement efforts against illicit drugs.

“It’s encouraging that Congress is paying more attention to addiction because it has never been more important to provide patients struggling with substance abuse issues with quality treatment options,” said Rehabilitation Detox of Bluffview. “We hope this is just the beginning of an industry-wide collaborative approach to ensure patients seeking help can get it. We also support smart regulation to end unethical marketing practices in the industry to protect patients looking for treatment online.”

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For more information about Rehabilitation Detox of Bluffview, contact the company here:

Rehabilitation Detox of Bluffview
469-697-1353
Dallas, TX 75225

ReleaseID: 60024880

January 30, 2019 – – Schaumburg Rehabilitation Detox has compiled the best, most up-to-date source of information on alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use and the burden of death and disease. It shows that in 2018 alcohol and tobacco use between them cost the human population more than a quarter of a billion disability-adjusted life years, with illicit drugs costing a further tens of millions.

The largest health burden from substance use was attributable to tobacco smoking and the smallest was attributable to illicit drugs. Global estimates suggest that nearly one in seven adults (15.2%) smoke tobacco and one in five adults report at least one occasion of heavy alcohol use in the past month.

Compared with the rest of the world, Central, Eastern, and Western Europe recorded consistently higher alcohol consumption per capita (11.61, 11.98 and 11.09 litres, respectively) and a higher percentage of heavy consumption amongst drinkers (50.5%, 48.2%, and 40.2%, respectively). The same European regions also recorded the highest prevalence of tobacco smoking (Eastern Europe 24.2%, Central Europe 23.7%, and Western Europe 20.9%).

In contrast, use of illicit drugs was far less common. Fewer than one in twenty people were estimated to use cannabis in the past year, and much lower estimates were observed for amphetamines, opioids and cocaine. Hotspots included the US, Canada, and Australasia. The US and Canada had one of the highest rates of cannabis, opioid, and cocaine dependency (748.7 [694.8, 812.3], 650.0 [574.5, 727.3], and 301.2 [269.3, 333.7] per 100,000 people, respectively). Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) had the highest prevalence of amphetamine dependence (491.5 per 100,000 people [441.4, 545.5]), as well as high rates of cannabis, opioid and cocaine use dependence (693.7 [648.1, 744.4], 509.9 [453.7, 577.8], and 160.5 [136.4, 187.1] per 100,000 people, respectively).

Some countries and regions (e.g., Africa, Caribbean and Latin America, Asia regions) have little or no data on substance use and associated health burden. These are typically low or middle income countries that frequently have punitive drug policies, and may experience serious political and social unrest. These countries need enhanced monitoring because they are at risk of rapid escalation in substance use and related health burden.

The report uses data mainly obtained from the World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The authors note that there are important limitations to the data, especially for illicit drugs, but believe that putting all this information in one place will make it easier for governments and international agencies to develop policies to combat substance use.

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For more information about Schaumburg Rehabilitation Detox, contact the company here:

Schaumburg Rehabilitation Detox
630-523-8182
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169

ReleaseID: 60024879

January 30, 2019 – – 9 out of 10 Americans who meet the medical criteria for addiction started smoking, drinking, or using other drugs before age 18, according to a national study released today by CASAColumbia (CASA) at Columbia University.

Adolescent Substance Use: America’s #1 Public Health Problem reveals that adolescence is the critical period for the initiation of substance use and its consequences. The CASA report finds 1 in 4 Americans who began using any addictive substance before age 18 are addicted, compared to 1 in 25 Americans who started using at age 21 or older.

Adolescent Substance Use at Epidemic Levels: The CASA report underscores the fact that addiction is a disease with adolescent origins. The underdeveloped teen brain makes it likelier that teens will take risks, including using addictive substances that interfere with brain development, impair judgment and heighten their risk of addiction.

The CASA report reveals that: 75% (10 million) of all high school students have used addictive substances including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine; 1 in 5 of them meets the medical criteria for addiction, 46% (6.1 million) of all high school students currently use addictive substances; 1 in 3 of them meets the medical criteria for addiction.

“Teen substance use is our nation’s number one public health problem. Smoking, drinking and using other drugs while the brain is still developing dramatically hikes the risk of addiction and other devastating consequences,” said Jim Ramstad, Former Member of Congress (MN-3) and a CASA board member who also chaired the report’s National Advisory Commission.

The CASA report noted that alcohol is the preferred addictive substance among high school students: 72.5% have drunk alcohol, 46.3% have smoked cigarettes, 36.8% have used marijuana, 14.8% have misused controlled prescription drugs, 65.1% have used more than one substance.

“Addiction is a disease that in most cases begins in adolescence so preventing or delaying teens from using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs for as long as possible is crucial to their health and safety,” said Rehabilitation Detox of Lake Grove. “We rightfully worry about other teen health problems like obesity, depression or bullying, but we turn a blind eye to a more common and deadly epidemic that we can in fact prevent.”

American Culture Drives Teen Substance Use: The report finds that American culture, broadly defined, actually increases the risk that teens will use addictive substances. A wide range of social influences subtly condone or more overtly encourage use, including acceptance of substance use by parents, schools and communities; pervasive advertising of these products; and media portrayals of substance use as benign or glamorous, fun and relaxing. These cultural messages and the widespread availability of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and controlled prescription drugs normalize substance use, undermining the health and futures of teens.

46% of children under age 18 (34.4 million) live in a household where someone 18 or older is smoking, drinking excessively, misusing prescription drugs or using illegal drugs.

Less than half (42.6%) of parents list refraining from smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, using marijuana, misusing prescription drugs or using other illicit drugs as one of their top three concerns for their teens; almost 21% say that marijuana is a harmless drug.

The report also finds that many teens with other challenges such as a family history including a genetic predisposition, a co-occurring health problem, or a victim of trauma are at even higher risk of substance use and addiction.

A Costly Epidemic: The CASA report declares teen smoking, drinking, misusing prescription drugs and using illegal drugs to be a public health epidemic presenting clear and present dangers to millions of American teens, and severe and expensive long range consequences for our nation.

In addition to the heightened risk of addiction, consequences of teen substance use include accidents and injuries; unintended pregnancies; medical conditions such as asthma, depression, anxiety, psychosis and impaired brain function; reduced academic performance and educational achievement; criminal involvement and even death.

The report finds teen substance use is the origin of the largest preventable and most costly public health problem in America today. Immediate costs per year of teen use include an estimated $68 billion associated with underage drinking and $14 billion in substance-related juvenile justice costs. Total costs to federal, state and local governments of substance use, which has its roots in adolescence, are at least $468 billion per year – almost $1,500 for every person in America.

“The combination of adolescence, an American culture that glorifies and promotes substance use, and easy access to tobacco, alcohol and other drugs creates a perfect storm for our teens and for taxpayers,” said Rehabilitation Detox of Lake Grove. “We no longer can justify writing off adolescent substance use as bad behavior, as a rite of passage or as kids just being kids. The science is too clear, the facts are too compelling, the health and social consequences are too devastating and the costs are simply too high.”

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For more information about Rehabilitation Detox of Lake Grove, contact the company here:

Rehabilitation Detox of Lake Grove
631-542-0929
Lake Grove, NY 11755

ReleaseID: 60024878

January 30, 2019 – – Patients cannot access full range of critical treatment services, report says.

A report by Garrett Park Rehabilitation Detox reveals that insurance plans nationwide are not covering the necessary services for people with addiction. This comprehensive review of the addiction benefits offered in the current Essential Health Benefits (EHB) benchmark plans found that none of the plans are adequate and over two-thirds violate the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“Our findings reveal that people with addiction may not be receiving effective treatment because insurance plans aren’t covering the full range of evidence-based care,” said Garrett Park Rehabilitation Detox. “For example, our review did not find a single state that covers all of the approved medications used to treat opioid addiction.”

The EHB benchmark plans determine the specific addiction benefits available to the 12.7 million people who are insured under ACA plans. The ACA requires plans to cover substance use disorder services, which are designated as an EHB. The ACA also requires that these services be provided at parity, meaning they are equal or comparable to medical and surgical benefits. But the ACA does not identify which benefits should be covered; instead, each state chooses an EHB benchmark plan to determine which addiction benefits must be covered by the ACA plans sold in that state.

Historically, insurance coverage for addiction has been insufficient. When people cannot access effective treatment, it can lead to disability, premature death, and a range of other costly health and social consequences. Conversely, effective treatment has been shown to not only save lives, but also reduce health care costs and decrease drug-related crimes.

“We are still a long way from treating addiction like a disease,” said Garrett Park Rehabilitation Detox. “Insurers are still not providing the same level of benefits for addiction treatment and services as they do for medical or surgical care. The absence of sufficient coverage for medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction is particularly alarming given the number of people dying or suffering on a daily basis. This kind of health care discrimination would never be tolerated during an epidemic for any other life-threatening disease.”

The report calls on states and insurers to revise their plans to comply with the law and cover the full range of effective addiction treatments. Currently, there is no penalty for states or insurance plans that are not complying with the law, which means that unless there are significant changes to the plans, those living with addiction will continue to be denied access to effective treatments.

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For more information about Garrett Park Rehabilitation Detox, contact the company here:

Garrett Park Rehabilitation Detox
240-621-6615
Garrett Park, MD 20896

ReleaseID: 60024877

January 30, 2019 – – Joliet Detox, a national leader in addiction treatment and rehabilitation, applauds House and Senate leaders for reaching an agreement on legislation that would address the national opioid crisis and the larger addiction epidemic in America.

With overdose deaths involving prescription opioids rising to five times higher in 2016 than in 1999, it has never been more pertinent to increase prevention and support research around the disease of addiction and provide education of drug awareness at an early age.

The legislation, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (HR 6), overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate and will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature. This bill will boost access to addiction treatment and employ many other interventions to mitigate the epidemic, such as combating overprescription and increasing law enforcement efforts against illicit drugs.

“It’s encouraging that Congress is paying more attention to addiction because it has never been more important to provide patients struggling with substance abuse issues with quality treatment options,” said Joliet Detox. “We hope this is just the beginning of an industry-wide collaborative approach to ensure patients seeking help can get it. We also support smart regulation to end unethical marketing practices in the industry to protect patients looking for treatment online.”

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For more information about Joliet Detox, contact the company here:

Joliet Detox
815-660-1487
Joliet, IL 60435

ReleaseID: 60024867

January 30, 2019 – – Substance abuse often affects people during the years when they should be completing school or finding employment, and the entrapment of youth in drug and alcohol abuse, as opposed to engagement in legitimate employment and educational opportunities, poses distinct barriers to the development of individuals and communities.

Substance abuse among youth has severe effects on our communities and families, and has many potential physical and mental health effects for the users, such as increased risk of injury and death due to either violence or accidents; increased probability of engaging in sexual behaviour with high risk of teen pregnancy and transmittable diseases; and increased risk for suicidal behaviour and psychosocial disorders. Abuse of different substances is furthermore also often the reason for declining grades, high absenteeism and school dropouts as well as involvement in crime and gang-related activities.

Substance abuse can be common among people suffering from mental health conditions. People experiencing anxiety, depression, or other mental illnesses often turn to drugs or alcohol to find temporary comfort. These substances are also sometimes used as a coping mechanism for those enduring a great deal of stress or hardship, such as experiencing troubles at home or at school, or losing a loved one.

Using drugs or alcohol to deal with difficult feelings or symptoms of mental illness is sometimes called ‘self-medication.’ But it can make existing mental health problems worse. Studies have for example shown that people who consume high amounts of alcohol are vulnerable to higher levels of mental ill health.

According to reports published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Roughly 50 percent of individuals with severe mental disorders are affected by substance abuse, 37 percent of alcohol abusers and 53 percent of drug abusers also have at least one serious mental illness, Of all people diagnosed as mentally ill, 29 percent abuse either alcohol or drugs.

It is vitally important to educate youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse, and to provide them with the emotional support they need so that they do not develop the need to turn to substance use for comfort. It is also essential that parents, teachers and the youth themselves are educated about the signs and symptoms of substance abuse, so that they can identify it early on and get the affected person help as soon as possible.

“All sectors of society needs to prioritise the support, education and protection of our youth against substance abuse, and to work together to safeguard their physical and mental health,” says Aurora Recovery Detox.

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For more information about Aurora Recovery Detox, contact the company here:

Aurora Recovery Detox
331-256-8303
Aurora, IL 60506

ReleaseID: 60024868

January 30, 2019 – – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described abuse of prescription drugs in the U.S. as a growing and deadly epidemic. Deaths in the U.S. from prescription opioid overdose have grown from approximately 4,000 in 1999 to approximately 19,000 in 2014.

Extended-release formulations are attractive targets for non-medical abuse since they contain relatively large doses of the active drug. Although the drug is intended to be released over a prolonged period, abusers frequently destroy the time-release mechanism by chewing, crushing or dissolving the formulation in commonly available household beverages or solvents.

In response to widespread prescription opioid abuse, the U.S. government and a number of state legislatures have introduced, and in some cases have enacted, legislation and regulations intended to encourage the development of abuse-deterrent forms of pain medications. The FDA has stated that addressing prescription drug abuse is a priority, and the development of abuse-deterrent opioids is a key part of that strategy.

According to Elgin Recovery Detox, chronic pain affects approximately 100 million people in the U.S. and 20-30% of the population worldwide – more than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. As such, chronic pain is a widespread and growing problem for which many patients do not receive adequate treatment. In many cases, pain is undertreated due to concerns about abuse and tampering with currently available treatment options. Although prescription opioids remain the primary treatment for chronic pain, growing public health concerns regarding the abuse and misuse of these analgesics has, at times, resulted in reduced patient access to safe and effective treatments.

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For more information about Elgin Recovery Detox, contact the company here:

Elgin Recovery Detox
224-281-7897
Elgin, IL 60123

ReleaseID: 60024869

January 30, 2019 – – To combat America’s rapidly growing opioid and heroin epidemic, the Milken Institute’s Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Public Health is joining forces with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), DEA Educational Foundation and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, to expand the reach of Operation Prevention – a national, standards-based initiative developed to educate students, families, and employees about the science behind opioids, and their impact on the brain and body. Since launching in October of 2016, Operation Prevention’s immersive English-and Spanish-language tools have reached more than one million young people ages 8 to18.

“Operation Prevention’s mission to educate youth will make a meaningful contribution to the future of our nation’s health. The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Public Health at the Milken Institute is pleased to be a part of the call to action to expand access to and awareness of prevention resources for communities,” said Ed Greissing, executive director, Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Public Health, Milken Institute. “This collaboration builds on the Institute’s efforts to extend life, and promote health and wellness at all ages, by using the most effective strategies to empower people in America and across the globe.”

The DEA, Discovery Education and the Milken Institute Center for Public Health will expand the reach of this program to millions more young people, and will be joined by a combined network of educators, advocacy organizations, businesses, think-tanks, and philanthropic institutions in all 50 states. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Substance and Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Education have contributed content, insights, and best practices to the development of Operation Prevention.

“This is an unprecedented epidemic – its growing and its growing fast. The United States makes up just five percent of the world’s population, but consumes the vast majority of the world’s hydrocodone. That said, it’s not surprising that opioids account for roughly three-fifths of all drug overdoses in the nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson. “We’re proud of the fact that Operation Prevention is a free, science-based education tool for students, teachers, and parents. In collaboration with Discovery Education, the Milken Institute, and other key organizations, we are able to make the opioid epidemic understandable for students by teaching them the science behind addiction.”

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For more information about East Northport Detox, contact the company here:

East Northport Detox
631-837-5685
East Northport, NY 11731

ReleaseID: 60024870