Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital building

Mon Health SJMH Receives Grant for Opioid Treatment Program Participation

WESTON, WV (June 16, 2020) - Patients suffering from substance abuse often come to emergency departments (ED) with problems ranging from overdose to infections. Hospital staff might provide an Alcoholic or Narcotics Anonymous handout, but that is usually the extent of support provided. Thanks to a grant to Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital (SJMH), that scenario is changing.

The Maryland-based Mosaic Group is working with Mon Health Medical Center and Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital to bring their signature "Reverse the Cycle" substance abuse program to the area. Funding through a partnership grant brought this to SJMH in early June 2020.

"Reverse the Cycle" (RC) involves three components that rely heavily on new teams of peer recovery coaches:

• With the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program, all emergency department (ED) patients are screened for high-risk alcohol, illicit drug, and prescription drug misuse.

• The Opioid Overdose Survivors Outreach Program (OSOP) provides intensive community-based recovery support and harm reduction for patients surviving an opioid overdose to prevent subsequent overdoses and link as many patients as possible to substance abuse treatment.

• The Medication Assisted Treatment Initiation for patients screened positive for opioid use is provided a brief intervention by the ED-based peer recovery coach. Those patients who are motivated and agree to treatment are referred to as a clinical team. Patients that meet guidelines are provided one initial dose of buprenorphine. Peer recovery coaches support patients in being "fast-tracked" to a network of providers that partner with the hospital for the same day or next day continued treatment.

"Over the last few years we have focused on identification and prevention strategies, and we know it has helped, but now we can focus on the patient with addiction and help them start the recovery process and be right there helping every step of the way," said Carla Hamner, Nurse Manager, SJMH Emergency Department. "This program is vital to our communities in fighting the drug addiction pandemic."

SJMH began surveying residents in 2013 as part of the Hospital's Community Assessment. In both the 2016 and 2019 Assessments, addiction was the number one area of concern. Attacking the addiction problem is a massive problem for a rural hospital like SJMH.