GALLATIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — In Sumner County, the search is on to fill a new position meant to help people battling addiction.
According to recent state data, more than 50 people in the county die each year from opioid-related overdoses.
This new job is made possible by a $500,000 grant funded by opioid abatement settlements.
According to leaders with Highpoint Health - Sumner with Ascension Saint Thomas, the new position is titled the Substance Abuse Recovery Navigator.
"This will be a person dedicated to saying, 'OK, where are you in terms of getting clean, getting sober, getting in recovery, and can we help you navigate this,' said Dr. Geoff Lifferth, chief medical officer and an emergency room physician for Highpoint Health - Sumner with Ascension Saint Thomas.
At Highpoint the interviews are underway for a Substance Use Recovery Navigator job.
According to Lifferth, whoever gets the job will help connect people struggling with addiction with services available to them in Sumner County.
With more than two decades working in emergency medicine, Lifferth said almost every day patients come to the emergency department battling some form of addiction, and sometimes it happens again and again.
"That's not an uncommon scenario where there are people there. You know, they have an addiction issue and they come back for multiple overdoses.” Lifferth said.
More than half of the people who experience an opioid overdose in the county end up in one of Highpoint Health's facilities.
The navigator will also work with local organizations including the Sumner County Prevention Coalition, Volunteer Behavioral Health, and the Sumner County Health Department.
“I look at it as kind of a dream team of the hospital that I love and work for, and then our partners out in the community that have a lot of experience,” said Kyle Williams, Director of Pharmacy for Highpoint Health —Sumner with Ascension Saint Thomas.
According to Williams, the navigator position will be able to help people in a way that's not always possible in a short emergency visit.
"The navigator is going to be the bridge to really help that person be successful with recovery long after they have left our emergency department,” Williams said.
Leaders with Highpoint said the navigator will also help to map overdose cases throughout the county and help them place life-saving NARCAN kits in the public places they're needed most.
Click here for more information about the position.
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Fundraising efforts are underway in Brownsville and Nutbush, TN to build a statue for a major superstar who was raised there, Anna Mae Bullock. You probably know her by her stage name, Tina Turner. I was a huge fan of Tina and glad to see efforts are underway to showcase more of her ties to West Tennessee.
-Lelan Statom
