JourneyPure Bowling Green Designated a Blue Distinction® Center for Substance Use Treatment

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Jan. 21, 2020 - PRLog -- To help patients living with a substance use disorder locate facilities that deliver quality treatment and care, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky recognizes JourneyPure Bowling Green as one of the first facilities to receive the Blue Distinction Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery (BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recvoery) Designation, a new designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated facilities that show a commitment to delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.

"Substance use disorder has been particularly devastating to the people and communities here in Kentucky and turning the tide on this epidemic requires a community-wide effort that starts with evidence-based, highly-coordinated treatment," said Dr. Jeff Reynolds, Medical Director of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky. "JourneyPure's commitment to quality and compassion is a tremendous asset to the entire southern and central communities of Kentucky. This is a well-deserved honor and I congratulate the entire team at JourneyPure."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, which highlights the seriousness of the opioid epidemic and how critical it is for patients to receive comprehensive, meaningful care. The BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery program requires designated facilities to deliver coordinated multidisciplinary care to patients and provide timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care in all phases of treatment. Designated facilities must also offer Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)—a way to treat opioid addiction that includes a medication component and behavioral therapy.

"Our mission at JourneyPure Bowling Green is to help individuals with substance abuse and mental health disorders get healthy and stay healthy," said Josh Foster, Chief Marketing Officer at JourneyPure. "We are dealing with a chronic condition, but one we know is treatable. Our commitment from the beginning has been to hold ourselves accountable to achieving positive outcomes at a level that exceeds national averages. By providing evidenced-based, fully integrated treatment, we are doing just that. We constantly strive to serve our community and its struggling members with the best-in-class care they deserve."

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in such areas as bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, knee and hip replacements, and maternity care, while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that, compared to other providers, programs designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved patient outcomes.

About JourneyPure
JourneyPure is a leading provider of innovative addiction treatment services, with an emphasis on treating co- occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Through a combination of inpatient facilities, outpatient centers, and proprietary coaching services, we deliver the full continuum of integrated, high-quality services to assist each patient in getting healthy and staying healthy. For more information please go to www.journeypure.com.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Health of America Report® series and the national BCBS Health IndexSM. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube and follow us on Twitter.

About Blue Distinction Centers

Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers' need for affordable healthcare. Each provider's cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in California, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington may lie in two Local Blue Plans' areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider's in-network status or your own policy's coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers. For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.