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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Joan Quinlan, MPA, Community Benefit Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, 101 Merrimac St, Suit 603, Boston, MA 02114, 617-724-2763, jquinlan1@partners.org, Jennifer Repper-Delisi, RN, Psychiatric Nursing Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Blake 11, Boston, MA 02114, Susan Krupnick, MSN, APRN, Emergency Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114, Michael F. Bierer, MD, Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, WAC-6-615, Boston, MA 02114, and Theodore A. Stern, MD, Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114.

Background: The Community Benefit Program of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) launched a community-based substance abuse coalition in Revere, a low to moderate income community in which the MGH has operated a health center for about 25 years. The Coalition's work became a major catalyst for improving substance abuse care within the hospital, led also by the Community Benefit Program. Methods: In order for a hospital-supported community-based effort to address substance abuse to have integrity, the Community Benefit Program recognized the need to improve identification and treatment of patients from the community who sought care for substance abuse at the hospital. The Community Benefit Program organized a multidisciplinary work group (including representatives from medicine, psychiatry, nursing, social work, and the Emergency Department [ED]), collected and analyzed data about patient experiences and gaps in services, and presented recommendations to the hospital's leadership. Results: New inpatient and ED pathways were created for the medical treatment of acute withdrawal. Clinicians throughout the hospital were trained in its use, and rates of identification and treatment of adult substance abuse in the inpatient setting improved significantly. In addition, a clinical nurse specialist with substance abuse expertise was hired for the ED (to educate colleagues, treat patients, develop policies and procedures, and form relationships with community-based providers). Conclusions: Community-based activity can be a catalyst for institutional change.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Identify the role a hospital can play along the continuum of substance abuse care (including prevention and treatment of both outpatients and inpatients).
• Understand the role that community-based public health activities can have in transforming a hospital system.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 550.0 kb)