GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A new local initiative aims to combat the growing opioid problem.
Bellin Health is teaming up with DarJune Recovery Community to offer peer recovery coaches for emergency room patients dealing with drug addiction.
“They are on-call, and they will respond and meet with that individual and kind of help them talk about what would be the next steps to move toward recovery.”
Bellin Assistant Vice-President Sharla Baenen says the coaches can offer a unique perspective, being recovered addicts themselves.
“They have the lived experience of knowing what it’s like, and they’re really able to engage with individuals from the standpoint of where they are at, at that moment in time.”
Baenen says the coaches, who must complete 30 hours of training ahead of time, serve as a bridge between the patient’s time in emergency care and “helping that individual engage with an actual treatment plan, so getting them connected to an addiction provider or therapist.”
She explains the reason for this initiative.
“We’re losing people. We have to get creative, and we really have to start at a ground level and a grassroots level to engage with individuals and help move them in the right direction towards treatment.”
Baenen notes drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50.
She says this effort, and a handful of similar ones across the state, are being covered by grant funding.
