Hello Janice,

Welcome to this edition of the Horizon Treatment Services Employee Newsletter. It's a pleasure to bring you the latest updates and inspiring stories as we advance in our mission to serve our communities.



• A Message from Our CEO, Jaime Campos
• Audio Interview: Joanna Conti with Vista Research
• Integrity Begins With Me! By Robert Lopez
• Appreciation and Recognition for Our Amazing Staff
• Feature Article Summary: OxyContin Marketing Impact
• Horizon Embraces Innovative Treatment Approaches
• Horizon Services is a CADTP Certified CEU Provider

As 2023 comes to an end, we want to wish you a happy holiday season and express our deep gratitude to you for your ongoing support. Your support enables us to carry out our bold mission in the face of an unprecedented national overdose epidemic!

Horizon Treatment Services

Horizon Treatment Services partners with Vista Research on Measurement Based Care (MBC)

By Jaime Campos, CEO

Who’s on board with maximizing our client outcomes? We are!! Allow us to introduce to you measurement-based care (MBC), a practice of basing clinical care on client data collected during treatment. MBC is an established evidence-based framework that provides insight into one’s treatment progress by way of measuring real-time improvement (or sometimes not) in symptomatology. [1] It has been used in behavioral health treatment settings to measure a broad range of symptoms from depression, anxiety, and trauma to name a few; with results reviewed by the client and clinician to assess how well one is responding to certain interventions. Indeed, researchers have found that this feedback process has intervention properties which triggers positive change in a high percentage of patient encounters. This is achieved through the very process of symptom monitoring, improving communication between patient and clinician, and effecting patient changes in self-efficacy and quality of life. [2] With such promising evidence supporting MBC’s effectiveness with our client population and with a demonstrated ability to improve treatment retention and related outcomes, [3] how could we resist? Read More

Values Ambassador Award: Paul Francisco is exceptionally compassionate and displays professionalism in his work with the clients, parents, schools, and communities we serve.

Safety Ambassador Award: Ramona Quinones makes an exerted effort to ensure the safety of all her clients. She diligently works to create a safe and nurturing environment in the schools and clinic.

Professionalism: Rachel Rix has shown exceptional professionalism by regularly consulting the clinical team and leadership on participants' medical issues. Her timely actions have raised awareness and led to appropriate interventions. As a team player, Rachel has also filled in for the Saturday swing shift during staff shortages.

Quality: Jennifer Prince effectively manages data entry at CHD, overseeing CG/SmartCARE to ensure accurate service entries by her team. Additionally, she collaborated on an unannounced state audit, successfully facilitating a smooth process with her proactive attitude.

Values Ambassador Award: Stacy Hampton, For always being reliable, flexible, and dedicated to the care of our clients.

Safety Ambassador Award: Andrew Kraskin for always thinking about our processes and client and staff safety.

Quality Client Care Award: Rafael Flores for exceptional client care and attention, always done with a compassionate spirit.

Integrity: Satsuki "Suki" Hill's genuine concern for both staff and clients and her ability to handle her responsibilities with honesty and transparency exemplify a solid commitment to integrity.

Compassion: Deshama Lankford-Byrd's ability to multitask gracefully, focus on meeting client’s psychiatric needs, and her tireless efforts to ensure clients receive the support they require, reflect a deep sense of compassion for those she serves.

Article Summary by Amanda Clarke, MPH - Horizon Services Board Secretary - Director of Programs, California Healthcare Safety Net Institute

California is 25 years into the opioid epidemic and the end is nowhere in sight. Last year alone, 6,959 Californians died from an opioid overdose and this past August, San Francisco saw its highest number of opioid-related overdose deaths since the city started tracking the fatalities in early 2020. As policymakers and local communities seek solutions, it’s helpful to look back and understand how we arrived here.

Over the course of the epidemic, researchers have shown a clear connection between the marketing of the opioid analgesic OxyContin and increases in fatal overdoses. Beginning in 1996, Purdue Pharma launched an aggressive marketing campaign for OxyContin, downplaying the addictive nature of the drug and using physician data to target doctors who were more likely to prescribe opioids for pain relief.

Read the Full Summary Here

Link to the Health Affairs' Article Summarized by Amanda

By Anna Phillips, Ph.D., LMFT

Chief Program Officer

The Executive Leadership team at HSI strongly believes that EMDR will significantly benefit client care and aid in the healing process.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy was developed in 1987 (Shapiro, 2018). Dr. Francine Shapiro developed the EMDR technique out of her own trauma and mental health crisis. Shapiro found that during a walk, her eye movements seemed to desensitize her own emotions around distressing memories.

This discovery has led to a revolution, with therapists being trained in this special technique that has been clinically proven effective. Over 26 case studies and reports from thousands of clinicians and clients have shown that EMDR provides relief from intrusive and disturbing traumas, as well as other mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety. Shapiro (2018) identified 14 focus areas where EMDR has been proven to positively impact symptoms, including trauma, substance abuse, severe physical abuse, grief and loss, and personality disorders. These areas are highly relevant to the individuals we serve at Horizon Services (HSI).

Read the Rest of the Article Here

We would like to announce that Horizon is now an officially approved continuing education unit (CEU) provider!  We have a vision of positively impacting the SUD workforce by preparing our team with many learning opportunities such as education reimbursement benefits, in-person training incentives and opportunities to grow within the agency. In this spirit, our official status as a CEU provider through CADTP, one of California’s three SUD Certifying Organizations (CO) will give our registered or certified counselors the credits they need towards renewal! Counselors can be registered or certified through any one of the three CO’s and benefit! Whether you are with CCAPP, CAADE, or CADTP, you can earn and use your units toward renewal requirements! For specifics about your renewal requirements, inquire with your CO.

Relias LMS (Learning Management System) CEUs: As you know, Horizon Services uses Relias, an organizational Learning Management System (LMS). While we all complete annual training for compliance and to expand knowledge within the field (many of which supply CEUs too), you have access to an entire course library of material. Our company-sponsored Relias CEUs support various specialty positions (i.e. Counselors, Licensed Clinicians, Healthcare Practitioners, etc.) at no charge – just another benefit to encourage your professional growth! For more about accruing Units through Relias, download this PDF. You can enter your certification or license to your Relias profile to find courses that you can self-enroll in to earn renewal credit.

Horizon’s In-Person CEUs: Because of our recent CEU approval, you will now notice that Completion Certificates for training facilitated by our Clinical Team (and the recordings of said training on Relias) are now upgraded to CEU certificates! Most of our Clinical In-Person learning will be worth 1.5 CEU. Please note that to receive CEU credit in person, you must be present for the entire training, ensure you are signed in, and have completed pre and post testing questions.

Please join us in celebrating the ever-increasing ways you’ve got to grow your skillset and earn credit for it. Your consistent engagement in our training programs helps us ensure that we deliver the quality of SUD treatment services that our community deserves, and which is reflective of the Horizon brand!