—
At a press conference held for local and state media, Dr. Thompson was joined by the Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran in announcing this new collaboration. Dr. Thompson was introduced as the physician who made the project possible and spoke just before the keynote from the Lieutenant Governor. The following is an excerpt from his remarks.
“Rescue naloxone has already saved the lives of a number of my patients – some who were given their first opportunity for treatment and recovery after being rescued.
This effort to make a life saving medication more widely available will save many more. The lives saved are those of good people struggling with a terrible disease, a disease that takes away their dignity, their morality, their health, their freedom, all their worldly possessions, and their freedom, before it finally takes their life.
The lives saved will be people we know and love, even admire – our children, spouses and friends. Through this simple device, a medication that can be carried in a purse or briefcase or backpack or kept in a medicine cabinet at home, people with a lifetime of promise and potential can be given a chance to get treatment and find recovery.”
The Virginia Center for Addiction Medicine (VCAM) was founded by Dr. Thompson and partners in the Fall of 2016, as Richmond’s first comprehensive Addiction Medicine outpatient practice working fully along the guidelines of the American Society for Addiction Medicine. The goal of VCAM is to provide help without delay and to address all the different facets and the most common co-morbidities of the disease of addiction. The Virginia Center for Addiction Medicine is a long-term treatment home for a lifelong illness and provides the long-missing center needed to create a true continuum of care. Services include drug and alcohol detox, addiction psychiatry, recovery coaching, medication assisted treatment, vivitrol, family counseling, educational programs and more.
For more information about The Virginia Center for Addiction Medicine visit: https://www.addictionva.com
Release ID: 170661