The key element of any quality detox is the quality of its medical staff, specifically the nursing staff. Detox is a difficult time for any patient. The fear, the physical and emotional discomfort, the overwhelming feelings that occur once a person has made a decision to stop misusing drugs and alcohol. For most patients, the first few days of recovery from addiction are not easy. However, from the millions of people who describe their lives after finding recovery from addiction, those days are worth it.
At Innovo Detox, we believe the high quality of addiction treatment and patient care that we deliver in those first days of someone’s recovery journey comes from the care, compassion, and skill of our staff. Above all, it is our nursing staff that make sure a patient’s withdrawal is appropriately and medically managed, they are as physically and emotionally comfortable as possible, and their overall detox experience is one that propels them onto their next steps in the recovery process and the addiction treatment continuum of care.
Jamie Carr, BSN, RN, is the Director of Nursing at Innovo Detox in Pennsylvania. Jamie oversees and supervises our amazing team of nurses, making sure that patients receive the best possible detox support, withdrawal management, and medical stabilization. Jamie and her team are on the frontlines of patient care and patient safety during their stay at our facility.
Jamie’s interest in addiction began at an early age. She describes early memories of seeing her aunt with some sort of alcoholic drink in her hand at all times, as well as later memories that involved multiple hospitalizations her aunt experienced as a result of alcohol poisoning. “I always wanted to help her,” Jamie described, explaining that the feeling of wanting to help led her into deciding to go to college for social work. “But life has other plans for me,” Jamie explained, as she ended up becoming a registered nurse in 2009.
Jamie didn’t start working as an RN in the area of addiction and mental health right away. She began her nursing career on a medical/surgical floor at a hospital in York, Pennsylvania. Next, she started to work as a per diem nurse in an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jamie describes that both positions allowed her to treat patients dealing with addiction issues, both alcohol and drug related. A particular patient Jamie cared for was so in the grips of addiction that they broke into a medical container of syringes and attempted to inject themselves with each needle. The experience was impactful for Jamie.
“Seeing that was enough to reinforce the feeling that I really wanted to help people like this patient or my aunt,” Jamie said. “After that incident with the patient, I then went to work in the psychiatric facility full time, where I felt that I was able to help people with mental illness and addiction since they both go hand-in-hand.”
Jamie next gained experience working with a patient population impacted by substance use disorder working as a per diem nurse for an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) in Pennsylvania. Her previous experience in the psychiatric unit and then working with opioid use disorder patients at the OTP gave her a chance to feel like she was really able to help people suffering from addiction.
At Innovo Detox, Jamie and her team play an integral part of a patient’s detox experience, both medically but also as support and a staff that offers hope to patients in those difficult early days.
“I continue to want to help people that suffer from addiction,” Jamie emphasized. “I like having the opportunity to see them evolve from the moment they are admitted to the time of discharge, knowing that they have a plan in place to be able to stay sober.”
If you or someone you know needs help for addiction or co-occurring disorders, please give us a call. Innovo Detox offers the latest in evidence-based medical, psychiatric, and clinical care for those in need of detox and medical stabilization in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic area. If we aren’t the best fit for you or a loved one, we will take the necessary time to work with you to find a detox, rehab, treatment center or provider that better fits your needs. Please give us a call at (717) 619-3260 or email our team at info@innovodetox.com. For more information on our company or services, please visit our website at www.innovodetox.com.