Addiction Medicine Fellowship
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Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America
In her 2019 synopsis of the book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America by Beth Macy, freelance writer Frances Roberts notes that the opioid epidemic in America first grabbed a toehold in distressed communities in central Appalachia. Beth Macy, author of Dopesick and an award-winning investigative journalist, began reporting on the heroin epidemic for the Roanoke Times in 2012, and was soon standing on the front lines.
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Carilion's Bridge to Treatment Program Evolves
In 2018, Carilion Clinic became the first hospital in Virginia to offer the Emergency Department Bridge to Treatment program, creating a direct path for opioid users from short-term withdrawal treatment in an emergency room to long-term treatment within a matter of days. That first year, more than 80% of the participants persisted. The success of the Bridge has led other Virginia health systems to launch similar programs.
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Carilion Medicine: Hugs Not Drugs
As the neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) problem has grown, so, too, has the need for effective care. In 2018, Carilion unveiled its Help Us Grow Strong (HUGS) Nursery, housed in Carilion’s Mother/Baby Unit. The transitional HUGS Nursery provides infants with NAS a safe, controlled, and soothing setting in which to ride out the temporary symptoms of withdrawal.
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Carilion Establishes Office-Based Opioid Treatment Program (OBOT)
Opioid use in pregnancy is on the rise. To address this crisis, Dr. Jennifer Wells and Dr. Kimberly Simcox established one of Virginia’s first office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) programs specifically for pregnant women. The Roanoke-based program is through Carilion Women's Health and opened its doors in February 2019. The program offers medications, counseling, and psychosocial and pregnancy-related support to expectant mothers.
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Carilion's Certified Peer Recovery Specialists
In 2020, Carilion began implementing Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. Certified peer recovery specialists are uniquely positioned to support people facing substance use disorder, mental illness, or other challenges, relying on their own personal experience while applying the skills they’ve developed through intensive education. Peer recovery specialists can be found throughout Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
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Carilion Community & Peer Support Services
Peer support specialists have been successful in their own recovery processes and gone through specialized training to help others experiencing similar situations. You don't have to go through recovery alone! Peers will walk side by side with you to support recovery through mentoring and goal setting, build community and relationships, provide education and share resources, and dnd the stigma and shame surrounding substance abuse and mental health recovery.
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