Opioid Misuse: Strengthening Marin County's Response*

Additional substance use navigators, who play a critical role in the hospital setting by guiding substance use disorder patients toward appropriate treatment, would enable more patients to obtain the follow-up support required for their recovery. Response: Agree. MarinHealth Medical Center, through grant funding, has employed a substance use navigator (SUN) in FY2019, 2020, and 2021. The substance use navigator has become an instrumental member of the interdisciplinary teams in the emergency department and inpatient clinical units and directly impacted over 300 individuals in 2020 who were referred to treatment after SUN intervention. Of those individuals referred to treatment, 31% made contact with a treatment facility. A successful SUN is able to develop relationships with community partners and clinical providers, and assist individuals beyond the walls of the hospital to connect with care to support recovery. SUNs are persistent, great problem solvers, and exceptional patient/client advocates who are helping to shift how those with substance use disorder are perceived and treated in the healthcare system and community at large. Through identification of patients impacted by substance use disorder, SUNs focus on harm reduction and low-threshold access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) in an effort to drive measurable positive impacts for patients, providers, and healthcare systems. Sixty percent of patients who received MAT at MarinHealth in 2020, either through induction or by prescription, and with the support and coordination by the substance use navigator, were connected with treatment facilities post hospital discharge. RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY RECOMMENDATIONS