|
Rhode Island is fighting a national battle against opioid addiction — a battle that has no boundaries and threatens every family, every neighborhood, every race, and rich and poor. The growing drug problem is among several acute behavioral health issues — including alcoholism and depression — greatly impacting Rhode Islanders.
Our communities are disproportionately impacted by illicit drug use, with Rhode Island ranked as the worst in the nation per capita. The gravity of this problem is evident in emergency departments across the state inundated with overdose cases. Opioid addiction killed 239 people in Rhode Island in 2014, prompting the governor to sign an executive order last summer to create a task force charged with recommending ways to curb overdose deaths. Lifespan, Rhode Island’s largest health system, of which Newport Hospital is a partner, sits on that task force.
Furthermore, the number of residents who struggle with problem-drinking far exceeds the national average, and few get treatment. The state’s mental health problems are also significant — from members of our adult population living with a major mental illness to those among our youth population facing depression.
In a state without a public hospital, Rhode Island hospitals — predominantly nonprofit entities — must work cooperatively with primary care providers, health centers and government agencies to meet the needs of the individuals and communities we serve. Newport Hospital treats patients through our inpatient behavioral health unit and partial hospitalization program. Our outpatient behavioral health and psychiatric departments provide patients with a “continuum of care” including pharmaceutical interventions to meet each patient’s individual medical and mental health needs.
We provide substance abuse services that address the health needs of the communities we serve. For example, Newport Hospital and its Lifespan partners utilize recovery coaches, also known as peer mentors, in all of our EDs to work one-on-one with individuals with opioid addictions and link them to long-term treatment and recovery services.
Newport Hospital’s partial hospitalization program is an intensive day-treatment program for patients who require more than outpatient care or counseling. The partial programs provide a comprehensive, structured treatment experience to help patients regain emotional stability. The hospital’s acute inpatient unit is also available for individuals in need of intense treatment to ensure their safety and assist with regaining emotional stability.
The hospital also works closely with an array of mental health and substance abuse resources to help provide assessment and treatment for children and adolescents. The hospital has partnered with Bradley Hospital in Riverside, R.I., also a Lifespan partner and the nation’s first pediatric mental health hospital, to provide child and adolescent behavioral health services.
|
