Beginning next week, Lansing, Mich., area emergency rooms will implement peer recovery coaches to encourage substance abuse treatment for patients admitted to ERs for opioid overdoses, according to a Lansing State Journal report.
Funding from the state and the Mid State Health Network will bring Project ASSERT (Alcohol & Substance abuse Services, Education and Referral to Treatment), a program that helps patients with substance abuse issues, to three Ingham County ERs.
The Ingham County Medical Examiner's Office reported a 15 percent increase from 2015-16, with nearly 85 percent of deaths involving heroin or other opiates, according to another report from the Lansing State Journal.
The recovery coaches, who have suffered from substance abuse but are in long-term recovery, will work with ER patients admitted for an opioid overdose and refer them to treatment and recovery options.