Treating addiction from the emergency room

The hub-and-spoke model allows local partners to provide individuals with access to resources earmarked specifically for opioid addiction treatment. The system of care, which uses regional clinics and non-profits as access points to treatment, has already proven effective in Vermont. Currently, a similar program is assisting individuals suffering from opioid addiction receive the help they need through entry points at nonprofits like The Doorway office at Harbor Homes.

In Nashua, New Hampshire, a city-run program known as Safe Station connects people who are seeking help with addiction to health-care resources, including emergency medical services, transportation, and support groups. Although a change in funding could impact the program's future, in the time that it has been operating, thousands of people have sought treatment and the city has seen a significant decrease in opioid overdoses.

For those addicted to opioids, getting treatment can take a long time because not all emergency rooms offer buprenorphine and counseling interventions. Yale-New Haven Hospital has shown that if patients receive buprenorphine at their initial emergency room evaluation, then the immediate action improves the person’s chances in receiving addiction treatment.

For parents recovering from addictions, maintaining care for children can be a challenge, so a hospital in New Hampshire changed how they practice primary care in order to help. Dubbed “recovery-friendly pediatrics," the program helps to connect parents with resources on a regular basis.

As jails in Ohio struggle with the skyrocketing numbers of people addicted to opioids, they are increasingly becoming the state's primary detox centers. This article explores how several counties are addressing the issue by connecting inmates to jobs, training and housing to cut down on overdose deaths and reduce recidivism. Medicaid has also made it easier to get inmates health insurance coverage, which gives them access to treatment and medications upon release.

Victims of violence found in hospitals are more likely to return for emergency care than those with chronic illnesses. As a result, communities like Cleveland, Ohio are trying the approach of treating violence as a public health issue. By employing social workers and peer mentors for the victims while being treated, it is hoped that the cycle of violence can be interrupted and the root cause addressed.

In Vermont, a judge and a family services organization created RapidReferal – a process which offers addicts treatment immediately and has lowered recidivism. Funded by Medicaid, the program has had demonstrable impact, namely, a decrease in recidivism.

The Frederick Police Department’s Crisis Response Team combines law enforcement with paramedics and mental health professionals to respond to calls. The team can showcase each person’s expertise as needed, providing more individualized care when responding to mental health emergency calls.

The Rwandan government is on a mission to get palliative care to everyone who needs it by creating their own morphine instead of being beholden to pharmaceutical companies driven by profit. Using Uganda's simple recipe for morphine, the government partnered with nonprofits to produce and distribute morphine for free and under close watch. The drug costs pennies to make and is hand-delivered by community workers to those who need it, no matter how far. Although fear and uncertainty remain over the possibility of opioid addiction, many patients are greatly relieved to now live pain-free.

The Tacoma Needle Exchange in Washington doesn't only provide a place for a clean needle exchange but also provides Narcan and fentanyl test kits to those who visit the white van for new syringes. Although the approach is still controversial at the federal funding level, studies have proven that this practice decreases the spread of infectious diseases.