ABOUT OUACHITA COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER
Located in Camden, Ark., the Ouachita County Medical Center’s (OCMC) Chemical Dependency Unit treats individuals struggling with substance abuse via their proprietary therapeutic philosophy that fuses a behavioral/medical model, family systems theory, and 12-step principles. According to its website, the state-licensed unit’s primary objective is to offer a “safe, supportive and environmentally therapeutic place for patients to address the issues related to their disease and start on the road to recovery.” Medical detox services are available here.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Ouachita provides up to four weeks of residential treatment, a partial hospitalization program (PHP), and outpatient services. Depending on a client’s specific needs, treatment may include intervention, educational therapy, individual, family, and group therapy, psychological and psychiatric evaluations, medical services, employee assistance, and aftercare. When appropriate, clients have access to medical detox with 24-hour nursing care.
At Ouachita, the end goal of treatment is total abstinence. To that end, programming helps clients develop the motivation and a personal support system to bring about long-term health and productivity. Though the program is individualized, all clients receive a comprehensive physical exam and lab tests.
All graduates are encouraged to build a relationship with support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and family members are urged to attend Al-Anon meetings. Free aftercare, whether at Ouachita or other nearby sites, is also available.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The chemical dependency unit is well staffed, with a multidisciplinary treatment team that consists of registered nurses, a medical director, a consulting psychiatrist and clinical psychologist, certified substance abuse counselors, licensed chemical dependency counselors, a clinical nutritionist, and others.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
The 23-bed facility features 24-hour nursing care. Additionally, the two Best-rehabs.com survey respondents to date gave the OCMC four- and five-star ratings out of five potential stars for its accommodations and for its quality of meals.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Alumni response is limited as of the time of this writing. In a Best-rehabs.com review, former client Russ, the sole alum to respond to Rehab.com’s survey, gave the center five out of five stars across various metrics, including the staff’s level of support as well as the accommodations, specifically appreciating the program’s “very close adherence to the 12 steps and the Big Book and the Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous.”
Reviews on secondary sites were mixed. On OCMC’s Facebook page, which the facility may have the ability to control, 91 individuals to date awarded OCMC an average rating of 3.4 out of five stars. “I had to spend 3 days up there last week thought I was dying I got some of the best care I have ever got… I would like to Thank all the staff that took very good care of me I had some of the BEST Nurse anyone could ask for,” Facebook user Thomas wrote. Others, in contrast, considered the staff unprofessional and “incompetent.”
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The single anonymous loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com called OCMC a “great facility” and felt that they were genuinely “concerned with the patient’s health.” In addition, this reviewer only gave four- and five-star ratings across more than a dozen metrics evaluated, such as the counseling options and the staff’s level of training and experience.
FINANCING
OCMC accepts most major insurance plans, as well as Medicare and military insurance. Financial assistance is also available to those in need.