Integrity House and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's Department of Psychiatry Unite to Form Unique Partnership

NEWARK, N.J. (December 4, 2014) — Integrity House, a nationally recognized non-profit substance abuse rehabilitation center with locations in Newark and Secaucus, proudly announces its partnership with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s (NJMS) Department of Psychiatry. The unique collaboration between the two institutions ensures fully-integrated care for the men, women and adolescents at Integrity House, who are battling the disease of addiction.

As part of the partnership, senior Psychiatry Residents from the medical school are rotating on a full-time schedule at Integrity House and providing its client population at both the Newark and Secaucus locations with Psychiatric care. Experiencing the treatment and recovery process firsthand, NJMS residents are receiving valuable hands-on experience by being immersed into the field of addiction medicine while serving an integral role in the care and treatment of each client. Residents are working with the NJMS faculty as well as the attending physicians at Integrity House to evaluate clients, complete assessments, make treatment decisions, implement changes to their health care programs, and evaluate them on an ongoing basis to ensure long-term success and sobriety.

“More than 50 percent of our clients have co-occurring substance abuse and psychiatric disorders, and they need to be treated by the best team of professionals in the field in order to ensure longevity of the results garnered from our program,” said Naipaul Rambaran, M.D., Medical Director of Integrity House. “We recognize addiction as a disease of the brain that is effectively treated with psychopharmacological, psycho-therapeutic, as well as medical interventions, and believe that the residents at NJMS are helping us to continue to provide the highest quality of care. We are enthused about this collaboration, as we have already seen its positive results and benefits. Not only are the Psychiatry Residents receiving indispensable experience by seeing addiction’s true health effects and witnessing the battles that addicts suffer from each day, but they are also helping us to meet the Psychiatric needs of our diverse client base and get them back on their feet to achieve happier, healthier and more meaningful lives.”

Since launching the program this past summer, one full-time position for a rotating resident is on site at Integrity House locations five days a week to help address the Psychiatric needs of the clients. In the future, there is potential for more Psychiatry Residents to be added to the staff at Integrity House as the program continues to grow.

“Our residents are receiving practical exposure at Integrity House, as they are experiencing addiction medicine upfront in real-time as they stabilize clients, witness their detox, and handle their health care needs through any relapses or medical complications,” said Petros Levounis, M.D., Chair of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “Addiction treatment training tends to be an area that most medical school residents don’t get much experience in, but our students, who are getting ready to embark as doctors, are already way ahead of the learning curve thanks to this important collaboration. They are on the frontline, making critical medical decisions, seeing their results as they are happening and monitoring them over time.”

To learn more about Integrity House and the full continuum of care it provides, please visit www.integrityhouse.org.

About Integrity House:

Integrity House, a nationally recognized non-profit substance abuse rehabilitation organization with locations in Newark and Secaucus, New Jersey, is the largest treatment facility funded and licensed by the State of New Jersey. Providing addiction treatment and support services for almost 2,400 adult and adolescent addicts each year, Integrity House offers a full continuum of care and implements a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to treatment for clients with substance use disorders from all of New Jersey’s 21 counties, helping individuals and families to make sustainable life-style changes. Since its establishment in 1968, Integrity House has evolved to offer a multitude of state-licensed, CARF accredited programs, including Adult Residential, Adolescent Residential, Halfway House, Partial Care, Intensive Outpatient, Corrections, Aftercare, Supportive Housing and specialized programs for men and women. Integrity House also offers prevention, intervention, and educational services. For more information, visit www.integrityhouse.org or call (973) 623-7246. Connect with Integrity House on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1qiKUBS or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/IntegrityNJ.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School was founded in 1954 and is the oldest school of medicine in the state. Today it is part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and graduates approximately 170 physicians a year. In addition to providing the MD degree, the school offers MD/PhD, MD/MPH and MD/MBA degrees through collaborations with other institutions of higher education. Dedicated to excellence in education, research, clinical care and community outreach, the medical school comprises 22 academic departments and works with several healthcare partners, including its principal teaching hospital, The University Hospital. Its faculty consists of numerous world-renowned scientists and many of the region’s “top doctors.” Home to the nation’s oldest student-run clinic, New Jersey Medical School hosts more than 50 centers and institutes, including the Public Health Research Institute Center, the Global Tuberculosis Institute and the Neurological Institute of New Jersey. For more information please visit: njms.rutgers.edu

Contact:

Carlee Pett

R&J Public Relations

908-722-5757

cpett@randjpr.com

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