The RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery celebrates 10 years of its Peer Recovery Program with a lookback at the last decade of transforming substance use disorder care and services for patients across the RWJBarnabas Health system.
2016: The RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR) launched its Peer Recovery Program in Monmouth Medical Center and Community Medical Center’s emergency departments, serving patients who received naloxone before arriving or in the emergency department. Later this year, the program was launched in Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
2017: The Tackling Addiction Task Force, a system-wide task force, was created to establish best practices, ensure the highest quality of care is delivered to patients with substance use disorder, and provide the necessary tools to promote evidence-based, comprehensive substance use disorder services throughout RWJBarnabas Health.
2018: The Peer Recovery Program expanded hospital-wide, serving all patients with substance use disorders. Recovery specialists began working full-time in the hospitals, marking the start of their integration with the medical care teams.
2019: The Peer Recovery Program launched All Recovery Meetings for patients, loved ones, and community members. Meetings honor all pathways to recovery and acknowledge that each person’s path is unique and reflects their personal strengths. The meetings are non-denominational and offer an opportunity to focus on the hope found in recovery.
2020-2022: The Peer Recovery Program remained fully operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving patients in RWJBH hospitals and hosting virtual All Recovery Meetings.
2022: Through the partnership of the Office of the Attorney General and the RWJBarnabas Health Corporate Pharmacy, the Peer Recovery Program launched its Naloxone Distribution program, allowing Recovery Specialists to distribute naloxone directly to patients and family members who experienced an opioid overdose.
2024: Peer Recovery Program launched in RWJUH Hamilton, marking the program’s integration across all 12 RWJBarnabas Health acute care facilities.
2024: IFPR partnered with the Rutgers Addiction Research Center (RARC) to create the RARC/IFPR Collaborative. The collaborative established the research arm of the Peer Recovery Program and brought together best-in-class researchers, clinicians, and community members dedicated to tackling addiction and all social care-related issues.
2025: The expanded Naloxone Distribution program launched, promising to deliver 15,000 Naloxone and Harm Reduction kits statewide.
2026: The Peer Recovery Program reached 150,000 patient referrals.
Over the last decade, the Peer Recovery Program has helped improve care for patients with substance use disorder, reduce substance use disorder stigma, and save lives. Most importantly, the Peer Recovery Program has provided hope to patients, families, and communities.
Recovery is possible; the Peer Recovery Program is here to help. To learn more, visit rwjbh.org/peerrecovery.