At MetroHealth Medical Center, Christopher Hall offers patients struggling with addiction something unique: common ground.
Hall is a certified peer supporter with Thrive Peer Support, an Ohio recovery organization. He鈥檚 part of a team of people at MetroHealth who have been through the rigors of addiction recovery themselves. They help patients facing addiction find treatment when it is time to leave the hospital.
鈥淚 used heroin for 15 years,鈥� Hall said he tells patients. 鈥淚 grew up with alcoholism. I know what you鈥檙e going through. And that really gets them to let their guard down and talk, and they鈥檙e usually very relieved.鈥�
For two years at MetroHealth, Thrive鈥檚 coaches have tried to help patients find such help as outpatient care or residential treatment. The effort is funded by the county Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board.
Now, to place peer supporters at Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals emergency rooms.
鈥淚n the emergency department, 9 times out of 10, it鈥檚 detox,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淒epending on their insurance, we can get them in somewhere usually that day.鈥�
In Thrive鈥檚 first year at MetroHealth, peer supporters saw 1,200 patients and connected about 30 percent with treatment, according to the company. The hospital appears happy with the results so far.
鈥淥h, it鈥檚 phenomenal,鈥� said Dr. Joan Papp, who oversees opioid safety for MetroHealth.
It takes a lot of time and resources to support people in treatment, Papp said. That鈥檚 time that hospital emergency departments rarely have.
鈥淲ith the help of a peer supporter, somebody there to really guide you and hold your hand, and in many cases drive you directly to treatment, that is just a world of difference,鈥� she said.
Coaches are now working with patients throughout the hospital.
They also work in the community, building relationships with people in the midst of recovery. Patricia Withrow met her peer supporter at a local treatment center in Cleveland.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a big part of my life, actually,鈥� Withrow said. 鈥淢y day鈥攊f I don鈥檛 talk to her at least once a day, I feel incomplete.鈥�
Withrow has been sober for 17 months. When she had a recent cancer scare, she said, her supporter talked to her kids to help reassure them. That kind of stress could push someone to relapse鈥攂ut Withrow has been doing well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 taught me how to have actual relationships with people that are positive,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he taught me that. She taught me to help set boundaries.鈥�
Withrow is referring to her peer supporter, Nicole Betzner. Betzner said she tries to remove roadblocks that stand in the way of recovery, such as by driving Withrow to appointments.
鈥淚f their home environment is toxic, or relationships, or if they have barriers with food, clothing, shelter, transportation, all of those things, kind of unraveling that,鈥� Betzner said. 鈥淏ut ultimately, also, helping a person recover from different traumas and issues of life.鈥�
Over the past five years, as the opioid crisis has deepened, peer support programs have been catching on鈥攍aunching in New York City, Rhode Island, Indiana and elsewhere.
While results are still coming in, hospital peer-support programs seem to be effective, according to Dr. Elizabeth Samuels, an emergency room physician and Brown University assistant professor.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been in that person鈥檚 shoes,鈥� Samuels said. 鈥淭hey know what it鈥檚 like. They treat them like a human being. They give them respect.鈥�
For peer recovery programs to work well, she said, a wide network of treatment options should be available in the community. That includes medication-assisted treatment and accessible overdose recovery drugs like naloxone.
鈥淭here鈥檚 very high risk of repeat overdose and overdose death following an [emergency department] visit for opioid overdose,鈥� Samuels said. 鈥淪o I think for people who are setting up these types of programs, we really see that as a crucial opportunity to connect with people.鈥�
Cuyahoga County is trying to seize that opportunity with settlement money. Meanwhile, counties around the country are still waiting for a universal opioid deal to help bring people with addiction back from the edge of crisis.
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