A $134,499 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will now make emergency treatment for opioid crises available in Sheboygan.
The Executive Director of Behavioral Health at HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital and Prevea Health, Jeff Stumbras, said the treatment will be provided at St. Nicholas’ Emergency Department on a walk-in basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Stumbras explained that “In Sheboygan County, deaths from opioid overdose have doubled since 2015, and we are now considered a high-risk county averaging 9.6 deaths per 100,000 residents.” Many of those were likely among the 85 percent of patients that relapsed after receiving life-saving measures, were connected with a recovery coach onsite and then discharged back into the community without medication and treatment.
Under the new program, additional processes and protocols were put in place so patients can be assessed anytime, day or night, whether they’re overdosing, withdrawing or just ready to start recovery from heroin or pain pills. Stumbras says the new option creates a continuity of care that will keep the patient medically treated, and counseled by recovery coaches from the Wisconsin Recovery Community Organization to a hoped-for full recovery.
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