Covenant Health has announced a new initiative in collaboration with Knox County Health Department to help individuals struggling with substance use disorders who need emergency care. Since mid-October, two full-time peer recovery navigators from Peninsula, Covenant Health’s behavioral health service line, have been working in the emergency department at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.
In peer recovery programs, a trained professional who has recovered from the experience of addiction is paired with someone who is facing recovery or still in the throes of addiction. The goal of the new initiative is to increase access to care for patients who come to the ED as the result of an overdose or other problems caused by substance dependency.
The initiative is funded by a grant received by Knox County Health Department from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of KHCD’s newly formed Substance Misuse Response Division, which includes multiple strategies to address substance misuse in Knox County.
KCHD is working closely with Covenant Health to develop, implement and evaluate the peer recovery navigator program. A full‐time public health nurse educator at KCHD supports the initiative by sharing best practices in overdose prevention and intervention.
Peninsula, a division of Covenant Health’s Parkwest Medical Center, has a long-standing tradition of increasing access to behavioral healthcare and substance misuse treatment in the community.
Mark Potts, LCSW, is director of clinical services at Peninsula.
The peer recovery specialists, Stan Grubb and Tina Wright, work alongside the ED staff at Fort Sanders Regional and director Ed Brock, MD, who was instrumental in planning the program.
“A significant percentage of our patients in the emergency department are dealing with substance related issues as the primary or secondary cause of their medical conditions,” said Dr. Brock. “This program places specialists in substance misuse treatment and resources directly in our ED. The peer navigators allow us to begin much more complete evaluation and support, and make more appropriate referrals to outpatient resources for these patients.”
“Substance use disease affects a person’s perception of reality and their sense of survival in ways that others have difficulty understanding. People afflicted with substance use diseases experience what most people see as self-destructive behavior in a very different way,” Potts explained.
“The peer recovery navigators bring a solid understanding of both sides of the equation. They know the emergency department staff are there to care for patients’ medical needs and help them survive their illness. They also understand that people overcome substance use diseases by forming a connection with others in recovery. That’s what peer recovery is all about, and it is so powerful.”
Information provided by Marketing Department of Covenant Health