Model and Strategy
The California Bridge Program is saving lives by making it possible for people who use drugs to get treatment at any hospital in the state, whenever they need it. While hospitals commonly treat overdoses, most medical providers do not treat the actual addiction. Despite the fact that medication for opioid addiction is highly effective, it is not easy to get. In fact, there are so many barriers to getting help with addiction that illicit drugs are more accessible than the treatment to get off of them.
CA Bridge is disrupting the addiction treatment landscape by treating substance use disorder like any other life-threatening medical condition. Our groundbreaking model dramatically lowers barriers to treatment by eliminating medically unnecessary tests and quickly providing patients with what they are seeking--immediate relief from withdrawal symptoms. By simplifying the process, we have made it work in the real world of busy hospital emergency rooms. Our goal is that all California hospitals will treat opioid addiction by 2023, and all substance use disorders by 2025.
Impact
When we create access to addiction treatment in every California hospital emergency room, we will have reached a scale unmatched by any other state. This will have tremendous positive impact on rates of overdose and death, as well as the human suffering that addiction causes. Because our work is pushing the boundaries of how people who use drugs receive care, it has important national implications. Our model is already having an impact outside of California; our web resources have been downloaded by clinicians in 26 other states with elements of the CA Bridge model being replicated in Colorado, Texas, and West Virginia. Across the country, we are seeing greater movement towards approaches in hospitals that lower barriers to care and put the needs of the patient first.
More broadly, we seek to change culture and practices in hospitals so that people who use drugs will receive the same respect and care as people who present with other serious medical conditions. We envision a medical system that is more inclusive and tolerant of people whose experiences or life circumstances lead them to behave in traditionally “noncompliant” ways. Ultimately, this work contributes to a more just approach to substance use in American society, moving away from responses that criminalize, stigmatize, and create racial inequities, and towards responses that promote health and justice.
Leadership
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Andrew Herring, MD
Co-Director
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Hannah Snyder, MD
Co-Director
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Aimee Moulin, MD
Co-Director
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Arianna Sampson, PA-C
Co-Director