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Piedmont Newnan & Coweta FORCE partner for ER addiction care
When patients present at the Piedmont Newnan ER seeking help for substance abuse, hospital staff connect them immediately with credentialed peer recovery specialists from Coweta FORCE.
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Piedmont Newnan Hospital and local non-profit Coweta FORCE are connecting emergency department patients directly with addiction recovery coaches at their bedside to combat rising substance use disorder rates.
Piedmont Newnan addiction recovery
What we know:
Emergency department staff at Piedmont Newnan Hospital alert Coweta FORCE team members the moment a patient asks for substance abuse assistance. A recovery coach arrives at the bedside within an hour instead of giving the patient a resource pamphlet.
Since 2023, hospital staff members have made 408 referrals to Coweta FORCE. Those referrals led to 1,000 follow-up appointments and placed 106 people into substance use treatment programs.
Coweta FORCE expansion
What we don't know:
Officials have not yet confirmed the exact completion date for the upcoming office construction.
The organization is building a 3,000-square-foot addition to its Newnan offices, which will permanently house the staff members dedicated to the hospital partnership.
Local addiction support
What they're saying:
"This partnership is incredible because we know that recovery saves lives and we also know that the hospital is there to save lives," Coweta FORCE Founder and Director Hank Arnold said. "So, there is a great intersection there between our mission and the mission of Newnan Piedmont Hospital."
"We are really proud of this partnership," Piedmont Newnan Hospital Chief Operating Officer Vicki Kaiser said. "We are kind of on the leading edge in the state. Hank and I have been talking about this long before 2023. He brought me the idea. And his determination and his ability to get resources has made this partnership possible."
"Substance Use Disorder is the number one cause of death between the ages of 18 and 45," Arnold said. "We have lost more people to overdose than in all of the wars in the last 100 years."
Community care access
What you can do:
Anyone seeking rehabilitation services can visit Coweta FORCE in Newnan or reach out by phone or social media.
"Or if you are in Newnan, you can just walk in the door and receive love and support in services right away," Arnold said.
Funding for the program comes from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities along with City of Newnan Opioid Settlement Funds.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Piedmont Newnan Hospital Chief Operating Officer Vicki Kaiser, who spoke about the program history and outcomes, as well as Coweta FORCE Founder and Director Hank Arnold, who detailed peer coaching operations and community services.