Ideal Option Treatment Clinic Opens Inside Carrs-Safeway Anchorage
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Ideal Option, a national leader in evidence-based medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder, and Carrs-Safeway, one of the largest grocery retail chains in Alaska, have teamed up to make recovery from addiction easier to sustain. Eligible Ideal Option patients can now schedule their follow up appointments inside the store’s Wellness Center, located at 1650 W. Northern Lights Boulevard in Anchorage.
The Anchorage Carrs-Safeway is the third location to open an Ideal Option clinic inside its Wellness Center this year. The first was in Vancouver, WA earlier this summer, a ground-breaking initiative that signified an enormous step toward reducing stigma and the mainstreaming of addiction treatment. Since June of 2021, nearly 500 appointments have been completed inside the Vancouver clinic, proof positive of the popularity of the arrangement among patients and acceptance among the community.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be expanding access to life-saving medical treatment for those working to sustain their recovery from addiction,” says Tim Kilgallon, CEO of Ideal Option. “With well over 400 patients currently eligible to transition to Carrs-Safeway for maintenance care from our existing clinics in the Anchorage/Wasilla area, this was a natural choice for our second co-location with Safeway.”
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Increasing capacity for treating patients with substance use disorder in the Anchorage area is timely. According to Alaska emergency department data, the average number of overdoses per week since March 2021 is almost three times higher than the weekly average number for 2019 and 2020. Ideal Option’s own lab data show that 33 percent of Alaskans who enrolled in treatment in July 2021 tested positive for fentanyl compared to just 7 percent in January 2021. While heroin and meth usage is declining, fentanyl use is skyrocketing, which puts thousands of Alaskans at risk for fatal overdose from this highly potent synthetic opioid.
“Carrs-Safeway is dedicated to supporting Anchorage area residents with all the resources they need to stay healthy and safe,” says David Green, Director of Pharmacy Operations at Safeway. “Through this collaboration with Ideal Option, we are able to offer patients a safe, friendly and convenient place to check in with their treatment provider and stay on the path to long term recovery.”
The Ideal Option clinic inside Carrs-Safeway is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and is located next to the pharmacy, inside the Wellness Center. The clinic offers maintenance appointments for existing Ideal Option patients who are undergoing maintenance treatment for addiction to fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, alcohol, and other substances.
Anyone is welcome to visit the Ideal Option clinic inside Carrs-Safeway to pick up information and learn more. All new patients will begin treatment at the Ideal Option clinic in Anchorage, on Tudor Road, or in Wasilla, located on Mayflower Lane. Most patients will be eligible to transition to Carrs-Safeway for ongoing care after 3-4 weeks of consistent progress in recovery.
Most forms of insurance are accepted, including Medicare and Medicaid, and patients can typically get started within 1-3 business days.
Patients can make an appointment by calling 1.877.522.1275 or visiting www.idealoption.com.
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