CVS Grants Orlando Health $20,000 for Opioid Education
Orlando Health recently received a $20,000 grant from CVS Health to conduct opioid education for healthcare providers. This includes targeted emergency department (ED) staff, trauma staff, care management and nursing staff. The goal of the grant is to educate these providers on understanding addiction, specifically, opioid use disorder. The program will cover (1) understanding addiction, (2) why addiction takes place, and (3) inform on the types of treatments that exist for opioid use disorder, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Monthly, Orlando Health sees around 35 individuals who come into the ED as a result of an opioid overdose. To best care for these patients, we employ an Opioid Navigator whose job it is to direct these patients to the services they need and guide them into treatment post-discharge. This new program will not only educate additional staff to enable them to work closely with the Opioid Navigator, who will be teaching the classes, but will also aim to address opioid addiction before it takes place.
What is an Opioid Navigator?
Our Opioid Navigator is well-positioned to successfully educate our clinical staff on opioid addiction and treatment. She is a former law enforcement officer who has a license in social work and has personal experience with opioid addiction. Because of this, our Opioid Navigator not only effectively gets through to our patients, but also understands the complexities of addiction. Her background and skill set make her the best person to educate our providers and better serve our community. With this grant, 300 healthcare providers will receive education.
Orlando Health’s Opioid Navigator Program Expands Thanks in Part to Grant Funding
