ThedaCare. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A peer counseling partnership in the Fox Valley is expanding its substance abuse treatment work.
Launched in 2020, the program has helped hundreds of adults each year with referrals, support and follow-up for addiction treatment and recovery. Now, it will be available in ThedaCare‘s newest facilities in Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.
Every year, ThedaCare treats thousands of patients for overdoses or substance abuse problems in its emergency departments. While it’s the doctors and nurses who treat the patients, getting them into treatment and help with recovery isn’t something they specialize in.
“We’re there and we treat them as a physician, but the peer recovery coaches offer a whole different opportunity,” said Dr. William Kumprey, associate chief medical officer of emergency care and an emergency medicine physician with ThedaCare.
To do that, ThedaCare is teaming up with Apricity — a nonprofit recovery organization that provides treatment, employment and transitional living for those with substance abuse problems. Through the Emergency Department to Recovery (ED2Recovery+) program, ThedaCare also offers peer counseling and coaching.
Dan Haak, president of Apricity Contract Packaging and Recovery Support, said, “They’ve laid on that gurney and have had similar situations. So, they’re able to relate on an emotional level and hopefully, support that person to say, ‘I know what you’re going through.'”
Patients identified by medical staff who qualify for peer counseling are offered an opportunity to meet with a recovery coach one-on-one before they even leave the emergency room. What starts out as a conversation can and has grown into so much more.
Last year alone, in seven of ThedaCare’s facilities, peer coaches met with more than 500 patients, offering support and resources.
“About 25% of our patients end up in some kind of treatment program, and that might be outpatient, it might be medication and it can be inpatient. And then we started tracking how many people we meet with just a second time,” Haak said. “Having that second connection point is really important, and we do have follow-up connections with about 60% of the patients that we meet.”
Some of the original patients in the program are now coaches themselves, helping to prove the effectiveness and need for peer counseling.
According to Kumprey, “There’s gobs of data out there nationally about the benefits of peer recovery coaches and medically assisted treatment in the ED. But when you read the stories and you know the people that are delivering the care, it’s extra special when you see it happen in your own neighborhood.”
The coaching is not only impactful on the patient, but the coach as well.
While the peer coaching program was originally funded through grants, Medicaid reimbursement now covers the cost.
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