Every three years, ThedaCare completes a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) for each of the seven hospitals. In the most recent assessment, all seven plans clearly identified substance use as one of the top three health concerns in the ThedaCare service area, and this is largely driven by prescription opioids.

In fact, 2021 was the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses in U.S. history. 

“Substance use disorders continue to increase throughout the country and in our region,” said Director of Community Health Improvement at ThedaCare Paula Morgen. “We knew substance abuse was a significant problem pre-COVID, and the pandemic added to the issue. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 107,000 Americans died from opioid or stimulant-related overdoses between December 2020 and December 2021. That was a 15% increase over the previous year.” 

To help address the health concerns driven by prescription opioids, ThedaCare and partners launched the Emergency Department to Recovery Plus (ED2R+) program in December 2020.

“The Emergency Department to Recovery Plus (ED2R+) offers patients who come to an emergency department (ED) with an opioid or stimulant overdose the opportunity to engage with recovery coaches to address their substance abuse disorder,” explained ThedaCare Community Health Coordinator Tracey Ratzburg. “ThedaCare partners with Apricity—a recovery nonprofit organization providing treatment, employment, transitional living and educational opportunities—to supply the recovery coaches who assist patients in recovery.” 

ThedaCare and Apricity operate jointly under a grant that uses state opioid dollars funded through Wisconsin Voices for Recovery and supported by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The grant covers the cost of peer support from a recovery coach for up to 18 months.

ThedaCare introduced the ED2R+ program in December 2020 at ThedaCare Medical Centers in Berlin, Neenah and Shawano. ThedaCare initially planned to introduce ED2R+ to their remaining four hospitals over two to three years. That plan was quickly expanded in the summer of 2021 to include all seven ThedaCare Medical Centers, Behavioral Health and the inpatient behavioral health unit at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah. 

“It’s important to recognize that we implemented this program in December 2020, which was during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Morgen said. “While our health care teams were focused on responding to the pandemic, they also knew this program was vital to support those who were struggling most as a fallout of the pandemic.”