OORP Resumes Face to Face Recovery Support Services; Stacey, Marc and Jocelyn celebrate OORP's in person return by visiting Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton!

From L to R: Recovery Specialists Marc North and Stacey Ross at their visit to RWJ to celebrate the return of face to face recovery support services, after a period of providing tele-services, in response to the pandemic.

Recovery Specialists Stacey Ross and Marc North joined me to visit Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, one of Mercer Council OORP's key partners, to regroup after a period of Tele-Recovery Support services.  The team pivoted to Tele-Recovery Support because of a pandemic that completely consumed our hospital partners, our community and the world.  In order to do our part to limit the spread of COVID-19, keep ourselves, our hospital partners and our community members safe, our team transitioned quickly to remote recovery support services.  While these services continued to be critical and accessable during the pandemic, our team could not help but feel the difference between face-to-face and remote services and eagerly awaited the day they could return to doing what they love - responding in person to those ready to make some changes in terms of their opioid use. Working together, the OORP team finds out how these individuals would like to reach their goals, supports them as they navigate systems and services, and sees their goals come to fruition.  As a result of an increase in access to vaccinations and COVID-19 restrictions starting to ease, the OORP team was elated to be back doing what they do best, meeting people where they are and working together to inspire hope and promote growth and change.

The work we do would not be possible without our amazing key partners, such as Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton, who has been with us since day one, working hard to connect people who come through the hospital to the OORP program and in turn a multitude of resources and services.  We want to give a special 'thank you' to Tammy Leigh, Assistant Director of Emergency Services, Intensive Care Unit and the Rapid Decision Unit, who has gone above and beyond to ensure that OORP is available to assist all of the RWJ Medical Team within the ER and as a result to everyone who walks through their doors for care.  This is a true example of how we can work together to reduce opioid related challenges within our community.  

We are so grateful to work alongside dedicated partners like RWJ Hamilton, who work hard to keep our OORP services at the forefront, in a busy emergency department in the middle of a pandemic.  We are honored to work with these health care heroes!

(Marc and Stacey outside the RWJ Hamilton Emergency Department, glad to be back in person at the Emergency Department!)