South Carolina Hospitals Join Innovative Program to Combat Opioid Crisis
SCHA is proud to announce the participation of several South Carolina hospitals in a groundbreaking program aimed at addressing the opioid crisis through the implementation of buprenorphine treatment in emergency departments (EDs). This initiative, implemented in partnership with Caronova and supported by the Public Health Institute’s Bridge program, seeks to enhance the capacity of EDs to treat patients experiencing opioid use disorder (OUD) or withdrawal.
Program Overview
The selected South Carolina hospitals will receive targeted implementation coaching and training from Bridge, a nationally recognized program that has successfully supported over 275 hospitals in implementing medication for addiction treatment (MAT) in EDs over the past four years. The program’s primary goals include:
- Establishing or enhancing buprenorphine treatment programs in EDs.
- Developing referral relationships with ongoing treatment providers for patients initiated on MAT in the ED.
- Promoting a culture change within hospitals to support patient self-disclosure and access to MAT information and treatment.
- Building and advocating for sustainable MAT programs.
- Creating pathways for the continuation and enhancement of site-level MAT initiatives.
Participating Hospitals:
The following South Carolina hospitals have been selected to participate in this innovative program:
- Lexington Medical Center
- MUSC Orangeburg
- Roper St. Francis – Charleston
- Cherokee Medical Center (Spartanburg Regional Health)
- Union Medical Center
- Prisma Health Richland
These hospitals were chosen based on their demonstrated readiness and commitment to addressing the opioid crisis, with a particular focus on small rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals.
Program Benefits:
Participating hospitals will benefit from a comprehensive support package, including:
- An initial onboarding call to assess baseline hospital readiness.
- Four online training sessions covering the foundations of ED MAT, buprenorphine starts in the ED, building sustainable teams, and harm reduction strategies.
- Collaboration with local clinical subject matter experts to build leadership capacity, particularly for vulnerable populations.
- One in-person site visit to support implementation fidelity.
- Three individualized technical assistance calls to address site-specific challenges.
- Engagement tools to reduce stigma associated with OUD and MAT.
In addition to training and implementation support, each participating hospital will receive a one-time $10,000 stipend to aid in the establishment or enhancement of their buprenorphine treatment programs.