Las Vegas Recovery Center

Partners In Our Community

By John Seeland, JD, MBA, MHS

We would like to thank Vegas Legal Magazine for the opportunity to be a community partner. This is an important and natural partnership in that we share a belief in the significance of addressing substance use disorders in our legal community.

Substance abuse and addiction represent a local, as well as national public health crisis that have myriad adverse effects on individuals and families, both directly and indirectly. Nowhere is this clearer than in the current epidemic of opioid painkiller abuse and addiction sweeping Nevada and the United States. A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics states that overdoses involving both prescription painkillers and heroin have tripled in the last 10 years. Nevada is among the top five states in the nation for its rate of the fatal misuse of opioid pain medications. With Las Vegas leading the way, Nevada ranks near the top among states where painkillers are over-prescribed, according to another CDC study (http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/opioid-prescribing/).

We appreciate the opportunity to inform and inspire the readership of VLM. Our mission over the next year is to provide important information on substance abuse and highlight local events and initiatives that can positively impact our legal system and community. We will do this through unique articles about substance use disorders and chronic pain as they relate to legal issues.

It is essential that we are aware of what is happening in our community—both from the standpoint of challenges and potential solutions. As you may or may not be aware, Governor Brian Sandoval declared September as National Recovery Month in Nevada. Notable smaller-scale grassroots initiatives supporting recovery from addiction are already well underway and ongoing. Nonprofit organizations such as the Foundation for Recovery (FFR) and There is No Hero in Heroin (TINHIH) have developed programs to provide support to Nevada residents impacted by addiction.

As a community, we have a responsibility to educate, advocate and inspire. Substance abuse and addiction are “equal-opportunity” afflictions: medical disorders with no regard to income level, career path, race, ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation. We must promote the understanding that addiction can affect anyone at any time, and that recovery is possible—for the individual and their family members. If we are to make real progress in prevention, early intervention, and helping those who suffer from addiction access quality treatment and find long-term recovery, we must put addiction stereotypes—such as addiction is a function of character or only certain types of people become addicted—to rest.

Partners In Our Community: Introducing Las Vegas Recovery Center

About Las Vegas Recovery Center

Our nationally known treatment programs, led by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, provide residents of our community an environment where they can achieve abstinence-based recovery from addictive disorders, as well as chronic pain. Las Vegas Recovery Center (LVRC) is more than a treatment program. It is a resource that Nevadans can turn to in their darkest hours. Since 2003, we have been a critical source of hope and healing for thousands of people, helping them to turn their lives around.

 Through a continuum of care that utilizes inpatient and outpatient programming and integrates an exceptional family component to fortify our clients’ support systems, in addition to recovery/sober living housing, we offer one of the most comprehensive addiction treatment approaches available. Out treatment methods are evidenced-based and adapted to the specific needs of each individual. Over the years, we have experienced great success working with impaired professionals, helping physicians, attorneys, and nurses recover, retain or regain their professional licenses, and return to the workforce. 

 In addition, LVRC is nationally recognized for our work with men and women who have become addicted to opioid pain medications in an attempt to find relief from chronic pain. We receive frequent referrals from workers compensation providers when their clients find that opioids no longer work, or the ravages of addiction begin to outweigh any benefit provided by medication prescribed by well-meaning physicians.