NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A unique outpatient service connecting people battling substance use disorder in the hospital to treatment services is growing amid the opioid crisis.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center began its Bridge Clinic in May to provide a faster pathway to recovery for people admitted due to severe cases of drug misuse. Dr. David Marcovitz said patients admitted include having infections in their blood stream, spine or heart, most commonly caused by injecting drugs like heroin. Patients are given the option to leave or admit themselves to the Bridge Clinic where they can receive medically-assisted treatment like Suboxone and counseling.
"If you don't offer care, engagement and treatment for people where they're at which is hospitals and primary care clinics, then many patients won't turn to treatment," Dr. Marcovitz told NewsChannel 5. "The Bridge Clinic is the first of its kind in middle Tennessee."
The Bridge Clinic saw 5 to 10 patients in the first couple of weeks, but the number has now grown to 40 per week. They typically stay in the program for at least a month but are able to stay up to three months if needed before they connect with other recovery services.
"One of the challenges is simply that we're working with patients who are new to treatment and many of them didn't choose to be in the hospital. We find people are gradually becoming more engaged and more motivated after the first several weeks of treatment," Marcovitz added.
To help with the transition, Schuyler Clayton, a recovery coach, meets and sits down with the patients. Clayton went through recovery himself three years ago and uses his experience to help others.
"For me this kind of works helps keep me sober," Clayton said. "That's why I use my story, so they can see I'm not trying to sell anything but to not die."
Destinee Rock needed open-heart surgery after more than a decade of using heroin and methamphetamine. She is on the road to recovery thanks to the Bridge Clinic, a likely different outcome if she were to seek help on her own. In reality, not every community in Tennessee has recovery services like the Bridge Clinic or any for that matter.
"When you're in active addiction, it's hard for you to ask for help. It's also hard to seek help and find it because you don't know the first place to look. The Bridge Clinic pretty much explained to me that there is help and I can get it now," she said.
In Tennessee, there were 1,818 overdose deaths in 2018, with 1,304 of them related to opioids. Rock said patients must really want to change and seek help and allow others to help.
The Bridge Clinic also helps patients without insurance, which makes up about two-thirds of who are admitted.
