Hospital-Based Addiction Care Launched at Adventist Health Portland

Oregon Health & Science University’s Improving Addiction Care Team (IMPACT) now offers hospital-based care for substance use disorders at Adventist Health Portland. This innovative program brings together physicians, social workers, peer-recovery mentors and community addiction care providers to get to the root causes of addiction right when patients are admitted to the hospital.

The program is a national model for how to address the opioid and fentanyl addiction crisis. Traditionally, hospitals have treated the acute symptoms of overdose and other medical complications of substance use but had no way to address the underlying causes of the patient’s substance use disorder.

Through Project IMPACT, instead of facing stigma, patients are offered medications for their substance use disorder and connected with addiction treatment after hospitalization. By integrating care systems, Project IMPACT helps patients get the resources they need to make a meaningful recovery.

“Project IMPACT is an important expansion of our mission to provide whole-person care to the east Portland community,” says Dr. Julie Byler, Adventist Health Portland addiction specialist. “We want every patient who comes to our hospital to leave with the hope, care and tools to reach toward a healthy future.”