(MASSLIVE- Jeanette DeForge) Doctors, social workers and legislators collectively agreed a $1.1 million grant to fight substance use disorder will do one vital thing: save lives.
Mercy Medical Center announced on Wednesday that it is the recipient of a $1.17 million grant to expand substance use treatment. While the grant itself is worth celebrating, equally exciting it is that it can be renewed every year through June 2032, which would infuse a total of $6.5 million into treatment, said Dr. Robert Roose, president of Mercy Medical Center.
“Recovery is real. Treating addiction saves lives,” Roose said.
“It is truly, truly, truly going to save lives,” said state Sen. John Velis, who is the chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.
The grant, which comes from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, will allow Mercy Medical Center to expand the number of people it serves from the current 800 to 1,200 a year, said Edna Rodriguez, director of behavioral health for the hospital.
Through the grant, the medical center will extend its partnerships with other community social service organizations, including the Behavioral Health Network, Tapestry Health and Gandara Center, as well as the hospital’s Healthcare for the Homeless, to support patients with ongoing services, she said.
Already, Mercy Medical Center asks anyone who is seeking medical attention about substance use during routine screenings. The grant will expand training for substance use disorder care to a variety of medical staff, so they can start providing treatment immediately if someone says they need help, Rodriguez said.
That also ensures doctors, physician assistants, nurses and others who are trained in substance use are available at all hours.
There many different ways to treat people, and Mercy Medical Center uses a variety of different methods, because there is no one way that works for every person, she said.
In cases where patients aren’t ready or able to quit, Mercy also works with them to ensure they stay as healthy as possible, directing them to places where they can get clean needles and testing supplies, which allow them to check street drugs to ensure they are safe, she said.
That the grant is renewable makes programs that are put in place sustainable, because it gives Mercy Medical Center time to find other funding sources, including insurance reimbursements, Rodriguez said.
“It is a statement that substance abuse disorders are medical conditions. It is recognition that every person should be treated with reverence and is deserving of resources and support to promote their own journey towards recovery,” Roose said about the grant.
Velis talked about how vital it is to have someone trained, and ready and willing to help when someone asks for assistance.
It takes a lot of courage to ask for help. If they are looked down upon or dismissed, that person might not reach out again.
Mercy has been an important part of the community’s effort to treat substance abuse, and the grant confirms and will expand that, said state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield.
“This is one of the ways we can invest in their combined success. This is not a grant. It is an investment,” he said. “Too many times we throw money at problems without an outcome, and this is an outcome.”