Shawnee Family Health Center urges integrated care during Alcohol Awareness Month

Alcohol misuse is not just a personal health issue in Adams County. Shawnee Family Health Center said it is treating alcohol, mental health and physical health together, pointing residents to local care that can help prevent a crisis from becoming a police call, a hospital stay or a family breakdown.

The nonprofit clinic, which serves Adams, Scioto and Lawrence counties, said patients can come in for treatment, counseling and medication support regardless of income or background. It also partners with Hope Source to expand counseling for alcohol and drug addiction support, giving rural families a nearby option when distance, cost and stigma might otherwise keep them from seeking help.

That message lands during Alcohol Awareness Month, which the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration uses to raise awareness of alcohol misuse and point communities toward prevention, treatment and recovery resources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says excessive alcohol use includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, underage drinking and drinking during pregnancy, and estimates that about 178,000 people die from excessive alcohol use each year in the United States.

The health risks go beyond addiction. The CDC says alcohol misuse can contribute to injuries, violence, alcohol poisoning, overdose when mixed with other drugs and cancer risk. The Ohio Department of Health has gone further, calling alcohol use the third-leading preventable risk factor for cancer, behind tobacco use and obesity. Its report says alcohol use accounts for about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year nationwide.

The local stakes are sharpened by Adams County’s small population and rural health access challenges. The county had 27,477 residents in the 2020 census, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 27,865 residents as of July 1, 2025. Adams County Health Department, which serves the entire county, is at 560 Rice Drive in West Union, another reminder that residents often depend on a tight network of providers for primary care and prevention.

Shawnee Family Health Center said affordability is part of the solution. The clinic uses a 340B drug program and a sliding fee scale to help lower the cost of care and prescriptions, a practical safeguard for families trying to manage treatment without sacrificing groceries, rent or gas money. Ohio Medicaid has said about 26% of Medicaid recipients in the state received treatment for a behavioral health condition in state fiscal year 2018, underscoring how often mental health and substance use needs overlap. In a county where one in five Ohio men and one in seven Ohio women reported excessive drinking in 2023, the clinic’s pitch is simple: integrated care is not a luxury, it is basic public health.