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Presbyterian Recognized For Pain And Addiction Care
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Presbyterian recognized for pain and addiction care

March 13, 2023FeaturedPress Release

Three Presbyterian hospitals – Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital and Presbyterian Rust Medical Center – have been awarded gold level Pain and Addiction Care accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Presbyterian hospitals were recognized for their innovative and evidence-based programs to improve care for patients. These efforts include:

  • Begin medication assisted treatment (buprenorphine) to treat opioid withdrawal while patients are still in the Emergency Department.

  • Educate and dispense naloxone to patients, as well as family members, in the Emergency Department.

  • Provide evidence-based treatment for opiate and alcohol use disorder through an interdisciplinary workgroup that includes peer support specialists, pharmacy, informatics, addiction and emergency medicine.

  • Create effective opiate stewardship strategies for painful conditions seen in the Emergency Department.

  • Offer non-pharmacologic pain management options in the Emergency Department.

“Addiction remains at epidemic levels in the United States and has only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Natasha Kolb, program medical director, Emergency Medicine, Presbyterian Medical Group. “We believe the Emergency Department is well positioned to meet these patients in their moment of crisis and offer them treatment when they are most likely to accept it.”

The work of our Emergency Departments complements other work at Presbyterian focused on reducing stigma and supporting patients with substance use disorder. These include a robust peer support program available across Presbyterian, outpatient medication assisted treatment programs, addiction medicine consults for hospitalized patients with substance use disorder and behavioral health consults in the Emergency Department.

For more information about accreditation, see https://www.acep.org/paced/

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