App looks to help people with drug recovery process
Oasis Renewal is the first drug and alcohol treatment facility in the state of Arkansas to offer follow up treatment through an app. This gives patients immediate access to continuous care.
“It’s going to save a lot of lives,” said Tiffany Vandersloot, Sales Manager for WEConnect. “[It will] reduce relapse. It’ll make them feel like people care.”
When you open WEConnect, it starts on your dashboard and shows you how many days you’ve been sober. It helps put the recovery process in the palm of a patient’s hand.
Carlie Taylor with WEConnect said the app has three different routines to follow; clarity, support, and connection.
“We believe those three types of routines really encompass a healthy lifestyle, whether it’s prayer, yoga, medication [or] church support groups,” Vandersloot said.
The app also allows you to add in your own support groups as well. That allows people in recovery to put their mom, significant other or a friend as a “support piece.” That will help you and them keep you accountable.
“The app has an S.O.S. function,” Taylor explained. “So, when you hit the button, it sends out an S.O.S. message to your support group in the app and lets them know, ‘Hey, I’m in need of some extra support.'”
Carol Baxter, Executive Director for Recovery Centers of Arkansas, said the app gives patients the tools to a successful recovery.
She mentions that one of her favorite parts about the app is when you check into each routine, the user gets points which could lead to rewards.
“You can turn those points in for a trip to Community Bakery or Starbucks,” Baxter said.
Baxter wants programs to give everybody “the tools so that they can manage their own recovery.”