Drug-addicted prison inmates in Schuylkill County now have a new tool to help them rebuild their lives.

The county has been awarded a $108,512 grant through the state Department of Corrections to pay for a pilot anti-opioid medication called Vivitrol and the counseling and other treatment to go with it, county Drug & Alcohol program Administrator Melissa Kalyan told commissioners this week.Gov. Tom Wolf in December announced that $1.5 million in grants were awarded to 13 counties for Vivitrol programs. They are Allegheny, Bradford, Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntington, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Pike and Schuylkill.About 68 percent of inmates have substance abuse problems, Wolf said at the time.The medication is already used in some state prisons.What Vivitrol doesVivitrol, an extended-release form of naltrexone, blocks the effects of opiates, eliminating the craving for heroin and similar drugs. It can also be used to treat alcohol addiction.Vivitrol is given by injection every 28 days.Under the voluntary program, inmates would get their first shot, given by Dr. John Stefovic of Ashland, a month before they are to be released.Inmates who qualify would start counseling before getting the first shot, while still in prison.Months of counseling and the spaced shots of Vivitrol, an extended-release form of naltrexone, work hand-in-hand, said Stefovic, who would administer the shots.The program will be administered by the Clinical Outcomes Group Inc. of Pottsville, Kalyan said."Clinical Outcomes will be doing treatment and medication, and we'll be working with PrimeCare Medical in the prison as well.PrimeCare is the prison's medical provider.Another toolVivitrol is "another tool in the toolbox" to help inmates overcome addiction, said Francis J. Komykoski, strategic planning officer for PrimeCare.The company has been involved with the Vivitrol program for about two years, he said.Because the medication blocks the effects of opioids, taking heroin will not give the user a pleasurable sensation. That will allow the person a period to be back out in the community, where drugs are available, but able to resist the temptation to use because the craving will be gone."We've found that it's been very, very successful in bridging that gap from when the inmate is released from custody" and well along in recovery.The more addicts who can get treatment and break free of addiction, the fewer will end up back behind bars.Kalyan said Schuylkill will have about 30 inmates in the program.Prison staff will help identify those who qualify and get them signed up.TransitionClinical Outcomes' Alicia Fleischut said the Vivitrol program will start as soon as someone is hired to provide counseling, and qualified inmates are identified."Each inmate will start participating in a curriculum called New Directions, which helps to transition them into the community," she said.New Directions starts one to two months before release to give them a foundation. Going into their second month, they will work with a doctor to start the process, Fleischut said.Inmates must also undergo some tests, such as blood work.A week to 10 days before release, they will get their first shot. The remaining shots, given over six months to a year, will be given at Clinical Outcomes offices.The support continues after release."One of our community care managers will go to the prison to help inmates navigate doctors appointments and transportation to make sure they get to Clinical Outcomes to get shots," Fleischut said.New Directions also continues once the inmate is out in the community. Inmates will complete the remainder of that program at Clinical Outcomes.As of July 2015, Vivitrol has been used at state prisons at Chester, Graterford, Mahanoy and Pittsburgh, with expansion of the program planned at Laurel Highlands, Dallas, Retreat and Waymart, according to the Department of Corrections.The DOC recently awarded grants to expand the program to county jails.