TREATMENT ACCESS AND RECOVERYÂ SUPPORTS ACTION TEAM
This team is identifying strategies to bolster efficient and timely access to appropriate treatment and recovery supports, and translating those insights into concrete policy recommendations. With leadership from the Howard Center and the University of Vermont Medical Center, this work is done in close coordination with the Opioid Task Force, a group that meets weekly at the Howard Center to address individual cases. The task force is supported by the Jeffords Institute.
Currently, the team is collaborating with the Turning Point Center in Burlington to place recovery coaches – people with lived experience – in the UVMMC emergency department. Intervening from a place of compassion and understanding following an overdose is a powerful tool to help people make the choice to seek treatment, and we’re excited to help implement this program.
In addition, UVMMC recently became the first hospital in Vermont to offer patients recovering from an overdose a three-day supply of buprenorphine.
The team is also working with the Turning Point Center on its initiative to offer low-barrier buprenorphine to people awaiting treatment, as timely access to medication assisted treatment is a crucial component of recovery for many people.
Co-chairs:
- Bill Keithcart, UVMMC Day One Treatment Program
- Catherine Simonson, Howard Center