Addiction Treatment for Rural America


Mobile Addiction Clinic

When it comes to combating the addictions of rural Americans, many times people are left to simply fight for themselves. While major cities and areas of urbanization tend to provide access to clinics and treatment, rural America is less well-off. This often means addicts having to travel unrealistic distances for treatment or having to find unaffordable means of getting treatment delivered locally. That, though, might be about to change. Thanks to people like Tonja Jimenez and their army of tricked-out RVs, addiction treatment is now becoming mobilized.

For years, the limitations of treatment have slowed down and limited what can be done for addicts in less urbanized locations. In 34ft-long RVs, though, helpful people like Tonja are taking the treatment to those who need the assistance. They bring life-saving treatments to parts of the country that simply cannot get the support they need. locations like rural Colorado can be especially cut-off from treatment. Yet given the massive rise of drug taking and addiction within rural USA, this creates a disastrous double-issue that can be nigh-impossible to solve.

Thankfully, the introduction of these RV services is growing across not only Colorado, but the entirety of the USA.

What happens now?

The hope is that treatment can continue to rise and be given to more people who need the help and support. They provide in-person testing, support, counseling, and medication where possible. Managed by professionals with an empathetic approach to dealing with addiction, they provide a telehealth bridge so that big city medical staff can provide appropriate care and attention from afar.

While in the past these poor people were left to essentially wither, today mobile RVs are helping to deliver better addiction treatment to rural America. These providers can offer support, deliver counseling, bring medical treatment, and even act in emergency situations to save lives. Put simply, they are one of the finest sights on the roads of addiction-ravaged parts of the United States.

With many addiction clinics no longer taking new patients, those who don’t live within a major urban area can find it hard, impossible even, to find genuine support for their condition. This problem has gone on for a long time, and it is an extremely hard issue to solve. However, professionals keen to put in place a genuine solution for those in need have worked around the clock to come up with a solution to help addicts in less well-off areas.

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic further limiting social contact and medical interaction in-person, things can change here. The aim is quite simple – to use these addiction treatment RVs to provide support to those who need it most. Instead of waiting months for a big city referral or having to pay through the nose for travel to get treatment, addicts can now have the help delivered to them – the way it is supposed to be.

Thanks to these RVs, then, the worlds that reside within rural American communities are about to become a whole lot less isolated.

 

Citation

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/28/915804036/health-on-wheels-tricked-out-rvs-deliver-addiction-treatment-to-rural-colorado