JUNEAU, Alaska – Substance misuse and addiction is a serious and growing problem in Ketchikan that negatively impacts all community members. In the Fall of 2023, The Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) charged the Ketchikan Tribal Business Corporation (KTBC) with developing a comprehensive intensive outpatient addiction clinic and opioid treatment program to help address this community crisis. To that end, KIC and KTBC has announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding as a key step toward a partnership with SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) to implement a comprehensive outpatient substance use disorder and opioid use disorder treatment program intensive for the people of Ketchikan. The targeted opening date for the Recovery In SouthEast (RISE) Wellness Center is early summer 2024.
“KTBC is eager to offer outpatient substance abuse and opioid treatment care to the people of Ketchikan, and we look forward to building a strong partnership with SEARHC and supporting the health and well-being of our entire community,” said Peter Jensen, Chairman, KTBC Board of Directors. Clinical services will be focused on Native and non-Native community members struggling with substance use disorders (SUD). Proposed SUD services will include individual, family and group therapy, behavioral health case management, and specialized medication interventions for substance and opioid use disorders.
Over the past two years, SEARHC has successfully established similar Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) in Juneau, Sitka and Klawock. OTPs are evidence-based and offer a combination of medication (including Buprenorphine and Methadone) and behavior therapy interventions to reduce cravings and side effects from opioid dependence while individuals work toward recovery. SUD services in Ketchikan will be integrated with SEARHC’s other Behavioral Health programs across the region, allowing for flexibility with both in-person and telemedicine appointments. SEARHC and KTBC will coordinate with KIC’s existing clinical services as the compacted Indian Health Service (IHS) provider in Ketchikan.
“SEARHC understands the long-standing stigma attributed to those experiencing substance use disorder and will, without hesitation, work cooperatively with local community partners, including KTBC, to both remove barriers and promote access to treatment and recovery for the community of Ketchikan, Southeast Alaska and the State of Alaska,” said Eric Gettis, Senior Vice President & Chief of Behavioral Health, SEARHC. “This partnership affirms SEARCH’s commitment to providing our communities with excellent care, helping to ensure that we’re growing stronger, together.”
The center will also provide alcohol, methamphetamine and other substance dependence treatment. Over the coming months, KTBC will be working with SEARHC to finalize a partnership agreement and build-out the RISE Wellness Center, KTBC’s facility in Ketchikan.
