For Immediate Release
August 11, 2022
Contact: Mary Katherine Delegal
(850) 224-6048
Some members of the Florida Behavioral Health Association accepted a check for $500,000 from Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez’s office Tuesday afternoon at Citrus Health Network in Miami.
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez’s Office Committed to Substance Use Services, Presents the Florida Behavioral Health Association with Funding for Additional Treatment
Miami, Fla. – On Tuesday, Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez’s office joined the Florida Behavioral Health Association (FBHA) and some of its community behavioral health agencies at Citrus Health Network in Miami. Her office presented the association with a check for $500,000 to purchase and dispense Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Floridians participating in community-based substance use services.
MAT is an essential tool in managing substance use disorders, a chronic illness affecting thousands of Floridians. When combined with counseling and community support groups, MAT results in people reuniting with their families, living in their community and returning to work.
Senator Rodriguez has been a champion for MAT and has been committed to supporting treatment and services that help people who struggle with substance use disorders reach recovery.
“Over the past couple of years, drug overdoses and deaths have skyrocketed,” said Rodriguez. “It is important that we all come together to invest in life-saving and medical best practices to help heal our communities and keep them strong. I am honored to present this $500,000 so community mental health and substance use treatment centers can continue their mission.”
Melanie Brown-Woofter, the FBHA President and CEO, accepted the check on behalf of the community mental health and substance use agencies that provide lifesaving MAT services to individuals in local communities throughout the state.
Also joining the presentation was Mario Jardon, the President and CEO of Citrus Health Network.
“Medication Assisted Treatment not only reduces substance use to the point of abstinence but also helps individuals in care enhance their motivation, build their coping skills and address underlying issues that led them to substance use, to begin with,” said Jardon. “We thank Senator Rodriguez for her commitment to such important issues. It is encouraging to see the State of Florida investing additional funds into treatments for substance use disorder that take a whole person approach to services and have proven to be effective.”
Brown-Woofter added, “We thank Senator Rodriguez for continuing to prioritize the wellbeing of all Floridians, especially those who are struggling with substance use disorders,” said Brown-Woofter.
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The Florida Behavioral Health Association is a non-profit organization that provides statewide leadership on behavioral health policy and practice. FBHA supports member agencies offering services to those in need of mental health and substance use disorder assistance and support. Its members include a broad range of provider types, ranging from small specialty organizations to comprehensive treatment organizations with multiple locations within a geographic region. For more information, please visit www.floridabha.org