Hospital-based substance use intervention program - the virginia hospital research and education foundation, in partnership with three member health systems, will develop and implement…

Hospital-based substance use intervention program - the virginia hospital research and education foundation, in partnership with three member health systems, will develop and implement hospital-based substance use intervention programs which utilize the evidence-based best practice of connecting patients identified with substance use disorder to a peer recovery specialist (PRS). These peer recovery specialists will undergo training and certification to facilitate the improvement of patient outcomes, starting when a patient presents in the emergency department and continuing by guiding the patient to community resources and through the stages of recovery. Peers are uniquely suited to provide this crucial support as they are personally familiar with the struggles of addiction and recovery. By providing these three health systems with the initial funding to establish these programs and hire and train PRS and other needed support staff, the systems will be able to sustain the work after the grant period ends by utilizing the virginia medicaid addiction and recovery treatment services (ARTS) waiver along with other funding opportunities. IT is the goal of the foundation that these early adopters will assist in establishing a peer recovery support model that can be easily duplicated by other hospitals which are experiencing a growing rate of opioid related emergency department admissions. The health systems committed to establishing hospital-based substance use intervention programs include valley heath, augusta health, and centra health which serve the populations of winchester, staunton, fishersville, farmville, and lynchburg. All these areas are considered rural and have similar demographics including a less than 40% bachelor's degree rate, an average 29% minority population, and increasing rates of emergency department visits related to overdose and substance use related CO-morbidities. In 2023, the participating health systems recorded a combined total of 2,161 emergency department visits that recognized substance use-related admission codes. Of those, 459 visits were for the treatment of drug overdose. This represents, on average, a 64% increase in overdose-related visits across all the participating hospitals since 2019, with centra southside community hospital reporting a 125% increase in the past 5 years. IT is the goal of this project to provide support for at least 100 program participants over the course of the grant year. This allows necessary time for hiring, onboarding and training seven peer recovery specialists, and a gradual ramp-up to a full caseload which may be achieved in the year following grant funding. Although this represents a small number of the total patients presenting to the ED annually, IT will significantly impact the survival rate of patients who enter the program and allow for additional data collection that will assist other health systems in developing similar programs. Peer recovery specialists will be expected to complete the virginia department of behavioral health and developmental services 72-hour PRS training program and work with their supervisors to accumulate the 500 hours of experience required for virginia PRS certification. After receiving certification and registering with the board of counseling, the peer recovery services will qualify for reimbursement through the ARTS waiver, ensuring fiscal sustainability for the program. Legitimizing the role of peer support in the recovery process not only increases positive outcomes for those in active addiction, but also gives hope to those in active recovery that there are opportunities for them to give back to their communities in a measurable way.