GUELPH – Guelph General Hospital has partnered with Stonehenge Therapeutic Community to pilot the Peer2Peer Overdose Response Program in the emergency department.
With this program, a peer recovery coach who has lived experience with substance use will connect directly with patients affected by drug or alcohol poisoning.
“My upbringing was very tough; I never really had a good opportunity to succeed,” said Brett Lomax, peer recovery coach at Guelph General Hospital.
“I started using drugs at 13 years old; that took me to prison and then to homelessness. Drugs took a lot from me, but it also gave me life.
“Being able to help others, where they are at right now in their journey, can only come from lived experience.”
People who use substances visit the emergency department and stay in hospital more often than others. The goal of this program is to provide peer-based support to reduce harm from substance use.
By connecting patients to the right care at the right time, with people who personally understand what they are experiencing, visits to the hospital can be reduced, officials say.
“Peers with lived experiences similar to those they support have a unique capacity to connect with people who are stigmatized,” said Melissa Skinner, vice president, patient services and chief nursing executive at Guelph General Hospital.
“Through this unique connection, people are able to have more positive, respectful, and meaningful experiences when accessing care.”
In the program, a peer recovery coach walks alongside a patient as they receive care in the emergency department and out into the community as they are referred to substance use services.
The coach provides emotional support, drug poisoning prevention education and information about local support.
“Peer recovery coaches provide a support like no other as they have a unique capacity to support individuals who are stigmatized because of their own experience of substance use,” said Kristin Kerr, chief executive officer at Stonehenge Therapeutic Community.
“They help individuals who experienced a drug poisoning to have the support they need in the moment, to navigate the health system and to figure out next steps. This program bridges care between hospital and community.”
The Peer2Peer Overdose Response Program also operates out of Cambridge Memorial Hospital and Grand River Hospital. The pilot at Guelph General Hospital has been funded until March 2024. If successful, the partnership will look to extend this program to ensure patients continue to access this valuable service.
For more information visit gghorg.ca.
