It’s heartbreaking to watch lives destroyed and sometimes prematurely ended by a person’s addiction to opioids.
It’s something we’ve witnessed firsthand, as Memorial Healthcare System operates the busiest emergency department in Broward and our county historically has the second highest rate of overdose deaths in the state.
A New Way of Thinking
By 2015, it was clear we needed a new approach to combat an out of control, opioid epidemic in Florida. Memorial
brought together a team of professionals and community stakeholders to create a comprehensive, evidence-based addiction recovery program designed to treat the complex psychological and medical complications of opioid use disorder (OUD). Initially focused on pregnant women, the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program worked to reduce thenumber of babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a group of conditions caused when a newborn withdraws from in utero drug exposure. Two years later, we expanded our efforts to help all persons battling opioid addiction.
The underlying premise of the program is to give people options, tools, and a phased approach to treatment as the building blocks of recovery. For example, detoxification may be the appropriate place to begin, but it takes significant level of post-acute care to give the patient the best recovery outcomes, including:
• A coordinated, non-judgmental approach that delivers medical, behavioral, social, peer, and recovery services
• Connections to community and additional support services that address social factors that impact recovery (ex: housing, job training, etc.)
Memorial’s program combines FDA-approved medications with psychopharmacology/ medication management, preventive medicine, recovery support services, and psychotherapy services. This includes Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), an evidence-based approach that teaches skills to help people regulate emotions, control self-destructive behaviors, and improve relationships.
This “whole person” philosophy of care requires our multidisciplinary team of navigators, peer counselors, social workers, pharmacists, and medical providers work together to help patients develop their own path of recovery and build a life worth living.
Life-changing Impact
Since its inception just over five years ago, Memorial’s MAT program has served more than 500 patients, many of whom have co-occurring psychiatric conditions (such as bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety) and struggle with psychosocial stressors that include poverty, limited transportation, or housing issues.
Among these individuals, 136 pregnant women have been part of “Mothers in Recovery,” with 93% of their babies subsequently born drug free. Post-partum, 91% remained opioid free after three months, 62% after six months, and more than half were still drug free a year later. Among all MAT patients, overdose-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations declined significantly.
Additional harm-reduction efforts included the dissemination of free Narcan kits for use as emergency treatment for suspected opioid overdoses. To date, our EDs and community service teams have dispensed more than 800 kits and saved at least 23 lives through documented reversals.
We’ve also made it a priority to work with ED leaders to institute opioid prescribing guidelines, promoting alternatives to addictive drugs for minor conditions and injuries. This has reduced opioid prescriptions by more than 50% and lowered the likelihood of patients developing opioid use disorder.
Recognized Success
The Memorial MAT program has been cited as a model for treatment by the Broward Behavioral Health Coalition and was one of Florida Blue Foundation’s 2020 Sapphire Award winners. “Mothers in Recovery” was one of only five programs in the country this year to be honored with the American Hospital Association’s Dick Davidson Nova Award.
While we’re proud of these honors, the true measure of impact can be seen in the profound gratitude of patients who have built meaningful lives in recovery, with strong connections to family and community. Hearing their stories of growth and empowerment and witnessing the joy of former patients working in the recovery field as peer specialists, assisting others facing some of the same challenges that once threatened their own lives.
Memorial Healthcare System is helping individuals rebuild lives and relationships one day at a time and that’s something we’ll never tire of seeing.
