Ep #149: Detox with Dignity with Dr. Thomas Locke, M.D. WISE Medical Center

Could unlocking the door to addiction recovery be as personalized as the treatment settings offered by Detox with Dignity? Dr. Thomas Locke joins us from the Wise Medical Center to share his innovative approach to addiction treatment, which offers a glimmer of hope and a touch of luxury. With a focus on motivation and underlying medical issues, Dr. Locke's program caters to those in need of privacy during their battle against dependencies, whether they be on alcohol, heroin, or fentanyl. His work in discreet locations like plush hotels and private yachts is redefining the recovery landscape for individuals, especially prominent figures in the community who require confidentiality.

Through an engaging conversation, we explore Dr. Locke's own transformative journey from emergency medicine to the front lines of addiction treatment. He describes how his program works collaboratively with mental health professionals to address the holistic needs of patients. It's a comprehensive approach that doesn't just aim to detox but also to heal, considering the entirety of a person's life from environmental factors to personal relationships. Listen in for a candid discussion on the raw challenges and profound victories that characterize the journey to sobriety under the compassionate guidance of a doctor who truly believes in Detox with Dignity.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:01

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Poehler.

Speaker 2 0:13

Hey everybody, I'm excited to be talking with Dr Thomas Locke. He is the owner and founder of Wise Medical Center and the Detox with Dignity program. Welcome, Dr Locke.

Speaker 3 0:24

Thank you, medical Center and the Detox with Dignity program.

Speaker 2 0:25

Welcome, dr Locke. Thank you. Yeah, we're excited to chat, so why don't you start off by telling us about Detox with Dignity?

Speaker 3 0:31

Well, we are here in Alpharetta. We've been in the area 15 years I think now and we focus on helping people to get off alcohol. And maybe a majority of our patients are struggling with opiates things like the heroin and fentanyl and kratom. So we have programs that we've been modifying and developing literally more than a decade.

Speaker 2 1:04

Why don't you tell us a little bit about your approach and how you guys help people get through those addictions?

Speaker 3 1:13

Well, first of all, we identify whether or not someone's truly motivated and ready to be helped, because until they reach that point we can't do much to be helped, because until they reach that point we can't do much. The biggest thing is recognizing that when people are addicted to substances whether it be alcohol or other addictive substances like heroin or fentanyl or whatever when they reach us they're not just doing recreational abuse anymore. They consume drugs because if they reach us they're not just doing recreational abuse anymore. They consume drugs because if they don't, they get sick. And if they do, they get sick. So that's kind of the perspective we wrestle with, and we help them to eliminate whichever problem they have by approaching it in a pretty holistic and comprehensive sort of way, not forgetting to identify pre-existing medical conditions that might be predisposing them to these habits.

Speaker 2 2:18

Do you work in conjunction with any mental health professionals? How does that work?

Speaker 3 2:23

Well, yes, I have relationships with lots of mental health professionals. We refer, when necessary, to inpatient facilities. We have several outpatient facilities we can refer to and we even have a team of people that we use once or twice a month where we can do treatments in home. You know a lot of people, especially who are prominent in the community and have businesses. They don't want the whole world to know they have a drug problem. We've developed a way to treat people in their homes and we've worked in Airbnb locations. I've worked in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. We detox people on 40-foot yachts so lots of different settings because sometimes removing a person from their normal environment is a very significant part of the treatment, but they don't want to go into an inpatient facility and be in a room full of other addicts. That kind of is something people are uncomfortable with sometimes.

Speaker 2 3:30

Yeah, yeah, but how long does it take someone to detox?

Speaker 3 3:36

Well, it depends on the substance from which they're detoxing. Usually I do work aggressively with people detoxing off alcohol to get them completely alcohol free in days to week or two. Maybe Opiates take a little longer. I could theoretically get everybody completely off in something less than two weeks, but the relapse rate when we take that approach is probably close to 80%. So when detoxing off of opiates, usually I'm an advocate for a period of maintenance therapy, they call it, where we keep them on something that keeps them out of withdrawal without making them high and sustaining that for a period of months. While we address things like lifestyle, environment, job, school, you know, all those other ducks have to be in a row before people are successful in remaining off of whatever they were abusing even fixing relationships and stuff that is sometimes a casualty of substance abuse. All those things have to be done with the opiate abusers before you can be confident that when you taper them off of everything, they will not be likely to relapse.

Speaker 2 5:06

Got it, Got it. Can you talk about your journey, Like you know what inspired you to go into this field and start this practice?

Speaker 3 5:15

Well, that's a long story but I'll try to abbreviate it. Okay, basically, I spent most of my career in emergency medicine and kind of got burnt out in 2001. And I had a short real estate career that was doing OK for a while, until the recession in 2007 and 8. I realized that if I was going to eat, I'm going to have to go back to seeing some patients. I'm going to have to go back to seeing some patients.

Speaker 3 5:47

But the things I did not like about medicine had to do with fighting with third parties like insurance companies and the government. So I identified some practices and activities and services that would allow me not to have to deal with insurance companies. So we have put together a collage of services that allows us to only work for our patients. So everything we do is stuff that people are willing to pay for. We don't have to fight with an insurance company. It's an inconvenience sometimes, but we cannot lower our standards to what the insurance companies say. Our service is worth to our patients. So when people understand that, it's not been a problem and the people who recognize that appreciate what we're doing. So that's how we enjoy coming to work every day.

Speaker 2 6:44

Got it. Can you think of any challenges and obstacles you've had to overcome since starting this business?

Speaker 3 6:52

Lots, especially with alcohol. I mean the problem is people think that drinking is socially acceptable, and that's always a challenge in dealing with patients who have a drinking problem, because if you're an alcoholic, social drinking is not okay. That would be one of the biggest problems. The other problem is cost. I mean it's not cheap to adequately address these problems. But I would like to point out that when people are abusing substances like 100, 200, 300 or more a day, you know our program actually saves them a lot of money.

Speaker 3 7:37

But that challenge sometimes it takes a minute for folks to recognize and you know the other limitations are having to do with. In most situations there are at least some services where insurance and hospitalization and all those things might be necessary. So the nuances of that can be a challenge. But I would say more than 90% of what we do is on an outpatient basis and we'd like to avoid those kind of challenges Not always possible.

Speaker 2 8:13

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. What do you like to do for fun when you're not working?

Speaker 3 8:22

For fun. Well, I don't know if it's not working, but I have 10 grandkids.

Speaker 2 8:27

Oh, wow, and when it's over working.

Speaker 3 8:28

But I have 10 grandkids, oh wow, and when it's over with it's always fun. In retrospect, Dealing with them can sometimes be work, but I would say that would be number one on my list. I do like fishing and I do play chess at least once a week.

Speaker 2 8:45

Oh, wow.

Speaker 3 8:45

But I like coming to work. I mean, that's fun for me, you know.

Speaker 2 8:51

Yeah, Seems like you made sure that you designed yourself, you know, a career that you know that fits you, and you'll enjoy.

Speaker 3 9:01

I can honestly say I don't know anything, I don't enjoy.

Speaker 2 9:04

Yeah, that's great. Where can folks find you? Can you share your address and contact info?

Speaker 3 9:11

Yes, we are at 401 South Main Street and Unit A, as in Apple 8. And we have a couple of websites pertaining to our detox practice. The main one is detoxwithdignitygacom, and we also have some unique services pertaining to pregnant patients. Not many people want to deal with the addicts during pregnancy, so over the years we've developed some protocols for them and there's a quick summary of those activities at addictedandpregnantcom. And I mentioned some of our VIP in-home kind of programs. We have a website that describes it VIPDetoxMDcom. Obviously, the phone works when the internet's working 770-559-9554. I'm not a fan of the VOIP stuff that they've made us do these last few years.

Speaker 2 10:21

All righty Now.

Speaker 3 10:22

I'm talking to you.

Speaker 2 10:24

Well, it's working Well, good deal, Well. Thanks so much for joining me today and thanks for all the good work you're doing in the community.

Speaker 3 10:33

Well, thank you for having me, yeah.

Speaker 2 10:35

Bye now. Thank you for listening to the community.

Speaker 3 10:36

Well, thank you for having me. Yeah, bye now.

Speaker 1 10:37

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Milton Moore. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPMiltoncom. That's GNPMiltoncom, or call 470-664-4930.