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addiction research

  • The outside of the nonprofit Blue Mountain Heart to Heart in Walla Walla. The organization serves people with chronic illnesses, including substance use disorder. (Credit: Blue Mountain Heart to Heart)
    Local News
    Medication first, and then a whole-health approach
    A couple of blocks off U.S. Route 12 in Walla Walla, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart has been treating people with substance use disorder for over a decade. But, for years, the nonprofit was unable to quickly offer a proven treatment for opioid use disorder: medication-assisted treatment.Staffers would have to arrange for patients to get an assessment with a trained substance use professional elsewhere to start the medication. Getting that assessment, and then, getting started on the medication, buprenorphine, used to take weeks.