Under the Hotspotting model, patients receiving treatment for opioid use in the Lincoln Hospital emergency department will be connected to a dedicated care team that includes community health workers and peer counselors. Following discharge from the hospital, the team will reach out to patients biweekly for up to a year to provide support and connect them to addiction services, medical care, community resources, welfare benefits, and housing as needed. Patients will also receive a cell phone and service contact to help them stay connected to care.
The program at Lincoln Hospital aims to serve around 150 substance abusers at high risk of relapse. A study of the Hotspotting program conducted by Northwell Health’s Staten Island Performing Provider System showed significant success, with only two fatal overdoses among 612 participants compared to 14 deaths among 1,089 addicts not engaged in the program. The analysis also revealed a 36% reduction in non-fatal overdoses and a 63% reduction in substance use disorder-related emergency room visits for participants compared to opioid users not in the program.
Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz expressed the need for new and innovative support for patients with opioid use disorder in New York City due to the increasing potency of opioids. He highlighted the benefits of the Hotspotting program in providing up to a year of follow-up care for patients at Lincoln Hospital undergoing opioid treatment.
The Bronx has the highest rate of opioid overdose death in the city, and patients who experience a nonfatal overdose are at a higher risk of dying from an overdose in the future. The Staten Island Performing Provider System is partnering with NYC Health + Hospitals to implement the Hotspotting Program, recognizing the urgent need for innovative approaches to combat the opioid crisis, especially in communities like the South Bronx.
Lincoln Hospital is excited to launch the new addiction treatment program, which will offer continuity of care as patients transition from the hospital to the community setting. Dr. Daniel Schatz, Health + Hospital’s medical director of substance use disorder services, emphasized the program’s role in helping patients stay connected to healthcare and addiction services.
With fatal overdoses in New York City more than doubling since the COVID-19 pandemic, initiatives like the Hotspotting program are crucial in saving lives and addressing the opioid crisis in communities across the city.
