Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital

Focus Areas: Core activities revolve around reducing morbidity and mortality from opioid and other substance use (OUD/SUD) through improving systems of care for pregnant and postpartum women and families, and reducing stigma. Prevention: Providing culturally accessible, stigma-reducing education about the impact of perinatal OUD/SUD on patients/families/communities for healthcare providers, early childhood educators, and community service providers; expanding naloxone distribution and harm reduction training across all maternity care settings; providing access to safe drug disposal programs, and training multidisciplinary maternity care teams in screening intervention, and referral to treatment for SUD/OUD. Screening and Treatment: Enhancing screening and treatment of hepatitis B, C and HIV), and earlier diagnosis and treatment of endocarditis, training multidisciplinary teams to initiate and maintain SUD/OUD treatment; reducing barriers to treatment through coordination with law enforcement, judicial and correctional systems; and optimizing billing and coding to ensure sustainability of services. Recovery: Enhancing discharge coordination through community health worker and recovery coach mentorship; expanding the impact of the peer workforce through programming in hospitals, the justice system, and the community; and supporting the development of recovery communities, recovery coaches, and recovery community organizations through engaging patients and families impacted by OUD/SUD in the planning and implementation of culturally sensitive services which respond to community needs.