Kettering Health gets grant to 'reduce spread of the opioid epidemic'

Kettering Health has been awarded a grant to reduce opioid use in the Miami Valley.

The three-year, $1.39 million grant will be used to help provide opioid-free pain reduction for medical conditions like benign headaches, dental pain, neck or back pain, joint pain, and benign abdominal pain.

The grant bolsters the existing PAUSE – Not All Pain Is the Same program. Specifically, it will fund the placement of emergency center pain navigators in all 13 Kettering Health emergency rooms. These pain navigators will connect with patients during their visits and after discharge to maximize opioid-free pain management.

Kettering Health said in an online press release it will also use the money to educate healthcare providers about using opioid-free options for pain management and fund opioid-addiction recovery services for those who need it.

“Not all benign pain requires treatment with an opioid. PAUSE focuses on implementing alternatives in these situations that effectively manage pain without exposing patients to potentially addictive substances,” said Dr. Nancy Pook, Kettering Health emergency medical director and founder of PAUSE, in the release. “Thanks to this grant, we are able to expand our efforts to curtail opioid prescriptions and continue doing our part to help stop the cycle of addiction.”

Pook created the PAUSE program in 2016 in response to data showing that patients prescribed high doses of long-acting opioids are at an increased risk for opioid dependency or overdose death.

Since the implementation of PAUSE, Kettering Health said in the release that its use of opioids has dropped approximately 20 percent, and repeat emergency visits for minor pain complaints have decreased by more than 50 percent.

The grant comes from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Medical providers interested in learning more about the program should contact grantmgt@ketteringhealth.org.