April 2012
16 posts
Apr 18th
3 tags
Medical Necessity by: Raymond Sherfield, LCDC
Medical Necessity One of the biggest misunderstandings we have to address over and over with patients and family is “My insurance told me I had 30, 60, 90 days of coverage—why are they denying my treatment now when I’ve only been here 1, 2, or 3 weeks.” Although they do have the coverage, the missing part is what insurance companies call ‘medical necessity’. This is not explained by the...
Apr 17th
3 tags
Apr 15th
2 tags
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE TWELVE STEPS
The Steps are a powerful statement of personal responsibility. They call for us to admit powerlessness over alcohol. At the same time, the Steps ask us to act to promote recovery from alcoholism. http://www.cyberrecovery.net/forums/showthread.php?t=359 Once a month I do a focus group on responsibility in recovery.  Let’s be clear, I have lost the choice of whether or not I drink alcohol. ...
Apr 13th
2 tags
Apr 11th
3 tags
Apr 10th
4 tags
Apr 8th
4 tags
Naltrexone and Pain
Low-Dose Naltrexone Reduces the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia: A Double-Blind and Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study Jarred Younger, PhD, jyounger@stanford.edu1, Rebecca McCue, BA1, Noorulain Noor, BS2, Sean Mackey, MD PhD2, (1) Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, (2) Stanford University, Palo Alto, California   Dr. Katie McQueen’s thoughts on the article Naltrexone is...
Apr 6th
1 tag
Apr 4th
3 tags
Apr 2nd
3 tags
Apr 1st
March 2012
17 posts
3 tags
The Process of Recovery
While reading an article this morning in Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly I came across this comment - “… recovery is a process of coming to terms with one’s illness rather than the elimination of its symptoms.” I immediately thought that’s what the 12 Steps gives us - a process of coming to terms with our illness. Through working the steps we come to understand our...
Mar 30th
2 tags
Mar 28th
1 note
2 tags
Mar 26th
3 tags
Mar 25th
2 tags
Meet Leonard, La Hacienda's Director of Food and...
After doing basic training in Ft Jackson, SC in 1966, Leonard Ensminger served with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam for one year. His next tour of duty was in South Korea for 2 ½ years where he met his wife of 44 years, Chong. Upon returning to The States, Leonard attended Cook School, Culinary School and Hospital Food Service School. This training prepared him for another tour of...
Mar 23rd
Mar 21st
4 tags
10 Things to Stop Doing if You Love an Alcoholic
The alcoholic is usually the identified patient in the family system but the entire family needs to change for all to recover.  There is a great article on About.com providing 10 key actions a family member can do immediately to take care of themselves.  The family system is like a dance, if one person starts dancing to a different beat, change inevitably occurs for all family members. 10 Things...
Mar 20th
1 note
Mar 18th
2 tags
Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus in the...
Is your US Representative a member of the Congressional Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus? Probably not since only 22% of all Representatives are members! That’s 73 of 337 representatives nationwide (4 of 32 Texas representatives)!   What does the Caucus do? Founded in 2004, it is the leading Congressional Caucus of bipartisan Members who are dedicated to educating and raising...
Mar 16th