BALTIMORE, Md. — The road to recovery can be a difficult one for those struggling with addiction. And finding help can be challenging. A new wellness center working to provide people with hope in their journey to recovery recently opened its door in Baltimore.
“We don’t turn anyone away for treatment,” said Bilal Ali, the Executive Director for the Omnis Health Life Health Wellness Center in Baltimore. “We have this tremendous overdose crisis and patients are either waiting on waiting lists or they don’t have direct access to treatment. We’re saying that our doors are open.”
Ali believes the key to recovery isn’t just saving lives, but also changing them.
“Our approach is a holistic approach,” said Ali. “I think we’re actually taking a different strategy of addressing some of the life situational problems that prevent barriers for patients who are trying to access treatment.”
The center provides resources for patients including different forms of individualized support and group therapy. They also use medication, counseling and even community support to help patients through the complexity of overcoming substance abuse.
“All of the patients are required not only to get the medications, but also to get the individual therapy too,” said Ali. “A lot of programs, we call them gas and go. You come in and get the medication. The medication is one component, but the best practice is if you have the individual and the group and a lot of other services and resources you have better outcome.”
That method proved true for patients like Donnell Mills-Bey.
“It was up and down scale with me,” said Mills-Bey. “I’d maybe do alright for a month or two and then I would slip back and forth right.”
But he says that all changed when he came to Omnis Health Wellness Center for his recovery journey.
“Starting off it was tough,” said Mills-Bey. “I found some things that I really could use with information. I stuck with it and I got straight up with it”
“When Donnell came to the clinic he was in pretty bad shape,” said Ali. “He hung in there, he was open to address his issues that brought him to our doors. I think he has done quite well. He’s stable, he’s clean now and those are the type of outcomes we’re looking for.”
Seeing that kind of success in patients keep organizers hopeful that they can continue to make a difference in Baltimore and help change even more lives.
The Omnis Health Life Wellness Center opened in doors in November and so far they’ve helped more than 100 patients in Baltimore. Organizers say they have the space to help and counsel up to 900 patients.
The center currently accepts walk-ins and patients who do not have insurance. They also have a 24-hour answering service with a real-life person to help at all hours of the day or night. They can be reached at 1(800) 795-1213
