Columbus-based OhioHealth has launched a comprehensive addiction medicine program at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital in Athens, supported by a four-year, $3 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The program integrates hospital-based and community care across southeast Ohio, offering patients inpatient consultations, outpatient treatment, telemedicine, counseling, withdrawal management, medication-assisted treatment, care transitions and community outreach. Modeled after similar programs at four other OhioHealth hospitals, the initiative is tailored to address substance use disorders in a rural region.
The initiative involves partnerships with eight local organizations, according to a Dec. 30 news release. A community-based nurse practitioner and a community substance use navigator provide outreach in shelters and public health sites or virtual settings.
At OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital, patients admitted for overdose or withdrawal receive immediate substance use disorder care, follow-up planning and care. Program staff also distribute naloxone, test strips, hygiene items and transportation support, with plans to add medication vouchers for uninsured patients by 2026.
The federal grant supports seven dedicated positions: one part-time addiction medicine physician, two nurse practitioners, two substance use navigators, a counselor and a nurse manager, according to the news release.
