Eatontown, N.J., April 11, 2018 – RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) has announced the official renaming of its Institute for Prevention to the “Institute for Prevention and Recovery.” The name change is reflective of the Institute’s increasing focus on recovery and coincides with the expansion of its state-wide substance use intervention and recovery programs in the midst of the ongoing opioid epidemic.
“These changes correspond to the national shift in health care delivery necessary to address the opioid crisis,” said Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJBarnabas Health. “RWJBarnabas Health continues to be a leader in confronting the opioid epidemic by adapting programs and services in an effort to meet recovery needs within our communities.”
The Institute is widely recognized throughout the state of New Jersey for its addiction prevention programing and substance use disorder services, including the RWJBarnabas Health Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP). Through the RWJBH OORP, over 2,500 interventions with patients who have been reversed with naloxone have been administered since its inception in 2016, saving numerous lives from the immediate and long-lasting effects of substance use disorder. Of those interventions, nearly 50% accepted detox, substance use disorder treatment and/or recovery support services.
Additionally, the Institute has conducted numerous education programs to reduce the stigma surrounding substance use disorder. Implementation of the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program has resulted in a major cultural shift in the RWJBH emergency departments so that staff and clinicians embrace those suffering from substance use disorder and work with the individuals to enter treatment with the ultimate goal of recovery.
“Changing our name represents a new vision for the Institute and a system-wide change throughout RWJBarnabas Health toward recovery,” said Connie Greene, Vice President of the Institute for Prevention and Recovery. “Expanding our recovery-focused program offerings is just the first step,” said Greene.
As part of the Institute’s expansion, it will soon be enhancing its established Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP) to allow participating RWJBarnabas Health hospitals to serve all inpatients who present with substance use disorder, not just those reversed by naloxone in the emergency departments, as specified under the current grant funding.
Additional recovery-focused programs launching soon by the Institute for Prevention and Recovery include:
- Support Team for Addiction Recovery (STAR) – Serving Essex, Hudson and Middlesex Counties, the Support Team for Addiction Recovery (STAR) Program will provide recovery support for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The STAR program assists individuals reversed from opioid overdoses and treated at hospital emergency departments through OORP; discharged from licensed, residential substance use disorder facilities; and individuals recently released from incarceration.
- Communities that Care – With programs launching in Toms River and Newark, the Communities that Care Program is an internationally recognized program that promotes healthy youth development and helps communities thrive.
For more information about the RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery, visit www.rwjbh.org/preventionandrecovery.
About the Institute for Prevention and Recovery
The RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery is a leader in the state for prevention, intervention and substance use disorder services. Through comprehensive recovery programs, the Institute for Prevention and Recovery perpetuates real change by facilitating effective, long-term recovery for individuals suffering from the disease of addiction. The Institute is also recognized for training and educational programs, serving schools, hospitals and communities throughout New Jersey. For more information, visit www.rwjbh.org/preventionandrecovery.
Contact: Rebecca Garvey
rebeccalynn.garvey@rwjbh.org
862-241-9968