A National Directory of Drug Treatment Centers and Alcohol Treatment Centers, Therapists and Specialists. A free, simple directory providing assistance and guidance for those seeking help regarding alcohol addiction, drug addiction, dependency and many other conditions that affect the mind, body and soul.
Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Clinical physician argues changes needed to cut into alcohol abuse

Fighting the estimated $5 billion impact of alcohol and drug abuse on society requires more than stricter criminal laws, a physician told a local group Friday.

Dr. Richard Brown, Wisconsin Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles clinical director, argued there are several ways to cut such costs in courts, social services and health care:

  • Boost community support for policy changes to outweigh lobbying from alcohol and tavern interests.
  • Strengthen enforcement of drinking age laws and the perception that scofflaws will get caught.
  • Reduce the number of taverns, places to get liquor late at night, and other liquor outlets.
  • Hike Wisconsin’s beer tax, the second lowest in the nation.
  • Implement successful treatment plans.

Brown told the 120 people at the community forum at the Kenosha Public Museum that improved detection of underage drinkers, not serving intoxicated patrons and making youth aware of the consequences of excessive drinking would help.

The initiative is implementing a program funded by federal money called screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment, or SBIRT, which identifies risky behaviors and encourages treatment. Brown said SBIRT has cut alcohol-related arrests by 46 percent, hospitalizations by 30 percent, binge drinking by 20 percent and traffic crashes by 50 percent.

Fifteen insurance companies in Wisconsin pay for the program, but not all doctors use it.

“So if they did, we’d see a significant decline in health care costs, employers would see an increase in productivity and we’d have safer highways,” Brown said in a Thursday interview.

Patients of doctors who use SBIRT fill out a form and receive treatment recommendations if needed. The initiative Web site said the program as of Jan. 14 had offered 81,644 screenings, referred 323 patients and led to treatment of 116 people.

The assessments are important because Wisconsin ranks first nationwide for binge drinking and drunken driving, Brown said.

Why the state ranks high in risky behavior is unknown, he said. His opinion was that, among other things, the state was settled by Europeans whose cultures were open to alcohol use.

“That and the Wild West American party ethic has combined to give us those distinctions,” he believed.

source: Kenosha News

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Treatment Center

Treatment center is a term related to medical division. The intense medical development has generated many centers for treatments on various diseases all over the world. Almost all the centers are dedicated to provide top quality medical services to the patients. Many people suffer from various dangerous diseases including cancer, HIV, Rosacea, and drug addictions…..

Continue reading

Drug testing

Drug test

Drug testing basically involves collecting the urine samples to test the different drugs like cocaine, marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, etc. The teenagers, are especially more vulnerable to drug abuse as their body and brains are still developing. This can lead to adverse effects on his health, body, behavior and brain. There are number of methods that….

Continue reading

Moderate Drinking Raises Risk Of Hospitalization

New British research suggests that men who consumer just four pints of beer per week may increase their lifetime risk of being hospitalized. In the study of 5,772 Scottish men, researchers found that those who consumed just four pints of beer, eight shots of spirits or eight small glasses of wine per week were more….

Continue reading

Voices of hope for alcoholics

When I attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, I speak of my “experience, strength and hope.” As an alcoholic in recovery, I carry that message to others as part of the 12-step program I work in AA. This week, I listened to other voices, both younger and older, carry the message, too, from as near as….

Continue reading

Where do calls go?

Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser: ARK Behavioral Health, Recovery Helpline, Alli Addiction Services.

By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.

I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE NOWI NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE NOW 888-647-0579Response time about 1 min | Response rate 100%
Who Answers?