Meet the Asheville, NC clinical team!

My name is Stephen Burgess and I come to Eleanor Health to serve as the Clinic Manager in Asheville. I am a clinical social worker and have been working in some capacity in the mental health / social work field for 25 years in various capacities. I also hold over a decade of experience teaching college with a bachelors level social work program. Additionally, I teach coursework covering the DSM-5 for social workers seeking clinical licensure in South Carolina. In my rare moment of spare time, I can be found following my passion for music, attending as many concerts as possible. I also enjoy coaching soccer and am an avid runner.

I’m excited to introduce you to the rest of our Eleanor Health Asheville clinical care team!

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Danny Wallace, Community Recovery Partner

Bio Coming Soon

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Connect with the Asheville team virtually or at our office!

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Name * Email * Message * Phone * (###) ### ####What is your preferred language? * EnglishSpanish How would you like us to contact you? * PhoneEmailText Message Thank you!

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Black Lives Matter: Eleanor Health Co-Founder and Executive Team Statement on Breonna Taylor Verdict

Eleanor Health Team,

Personally, Louisville is my hometown, and the ruling and process of Breonna Taylor’s case have been especially disgusting, in the shadow of her killing. This hits home in the literal sense, as I know it does for many of the Eleanor team and community.

As your Co-Founding and Executive Leadership Team, we write this email to recognize and acknowledge the pain the recent verdict in the case of Breonna Taylor may bring to our Black Eleanor teammates. We deplore the decision to not bring justice to those responsible for the killing of Breonna Taylor, and we stand in solidarity with the Black community through this time of acute trauma, and always.

At Eleanor, we stand for equity and justice, and look to progress these values, particularly for Black people, who don’t experience equity and justice in this country. Period.

In our commitment to support the Eleanor team, especially our Black Eleanor teammates, counsel and guidance from the Black Lives Matter Committee has led to the following:

• Updated Bereavement Policy: Our updated bereavement policy gives one day of leave for any Eleanor teammate who has suffered loss, no questions asked. This includes those who might be suffering from the acute trauma of social injustices like the police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Rayshard Brooks. If you need a day, take it. The only requirement is that you first confirm the time with your manager so that we can ensure that member care continues without disruption. If additional time off is needed, Wellness Time can be used in conjunction with the bereavement leave.

• Employee Assistance Program: Health Advocate offers grief counseling, short-term counseling, and other mental health services for Eleanor employees through your Justworks account. We also intend to curate a BIPOC affirming counseling network.

• Paid Mindfulness App: For any Eleanor teammate looking to download a mindfulness app to help manage stress, anxiety, or grief, especially times like this, we are adding a new benefit that allows you to expense it to Eleanor. We will reimburse up to $15/month for the meditation/mindfulness app that resonates with you. Simply submit the monthly charge through Expensify for your reimbursement. Liberate is suggested by our BLMC and is purpose built for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

• Black Lives Matter Committee: Please communicate directly with our Black Lives Matter Committee with ideas or support.

• External Resources: See 44 Black Mental Health Resources for Black People Trying to Survive in this Country as one recommended guide of resources to support our teammates.

Lastly, we want to leave you with the words of Breonna Taylor’s mom, as they resonated with us:

Palmer also recalled her feelings upon hearing that no officers would be indicted for their involvement in Taylor’s death.

“Mad. Pissed. Upset. Hurt. A lot of emotions,” she said. “I wasn’t surprised, though. I didn’t have faith in them to begin with. I was holding out hope.”

Before leaving, Palmer remarked there was “still a lot of work to be done.” “It doesn’t end there,” she said. “People need to get out and vote. Voting is going to get the change we need. Protesting is nothing if we don’t take it to the polls.”

To support the change that is needed, we strongly encourage you to register to vote and develop a voting plan. Those who need to vote in person will be allowed up to a half day paid time off to cast their ballots, working around their member care schedules. Please reach out to us with any other support you need.

Yours in Solidarity,

Srishti, Corbin, Nzinga, and Michael

from
https://www.eleanorhealth.com/blog/black-lives-matter-eleanor-health-co-founder-and-executive-team-statement-on-breonna-taylor-verdict

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How Value-Based Care Can Improve Mental Health & Addiction Treatment

“I want to give up heroin, but I still want to have a beer on the weekend with my friends.” The simple desire was from Ben, a patient, referred to as community members, at Eleanor Health in Mooresville, NC. He had tried giving up heroin on his own, and continually relapsed, but no other treatment provider would accept him into their program. Other programs require full abstinence with the belief that if he wasn’t willing to give up every substance, he “wasn’t ready” and wouldn’t be successful in treatment. What resulted was a lack of trust in the healthcare system, and a spiral that made Ben feel like a failure. He lost his job and his partner, moved back home, and cycled in and out of hospital emergency rooms and 28-day rehabs.

Ben’s story is one we hear frequently. He was given opioids for an injury in high school, and ultimately became addicted. He had untreated anxiety, and the impact the injury had on his life — taking away his identity as a 3-sport athlete — led him to substances to cope and self-manage. His story with treatment is also one we hear frequently. The treatment landscape in this country and in his community, based on stigma, abstinence, and weak evidence, failed him.

Other segments of healthcare have embraced population health and value-based care — an approach that focuses on improvements in health, addresses care longitudinally, and works with the whole person. Newer financial models pay for healthcare differently and support population health and achieved outcomes, a move from fee-for-service to value-based payments. In mental health and addiction, these payment and care delivery models are only just emerging, but they have the potential to dramatically improve the health and outcomes for patients like Ben.

For payers looking to implement effective payment models, and providers that want to focus on outcomes, below are four critical components:

1. Not firing patients

Traditional addiction treatment programs only offer “one-size-fits-all” or abstinence-only care approaches that prevent treatment for patients who aren’t completely abstinent from all substances. Historically, these types of programs have “fired” patients — kicked them out of the program for non-compliance with certain criteria including negative urine drug screens and unwavering abstinence — a practice rooted in stigma and the false belief that addiction is a choice and moral failing.

As a result, many patients’ treatment journey consists of various starts and stops through several recurrent episodes of expensive, out-of-network treatment or inpatient treatment programs that aren’t evidence-based. And even newer innovative models of care require adherence to all components of the program, like attending a group meeting in order to get life-saving medication, a practice that further marginalizes those struggling with addiction.

Value-based programs are personalized and recognize that addiction is a relapsing condition just like other chronic conditions.

2. Taking care of the whole person

Many providers are unequipped to address whole-person needs and instead focus narrowly on presence or absence of substance use despite the evidence that the majority of patients have other physical and mental health needs that occur alongside their substance use disorder. Roughly 80% of patients with SUD have other co-occurring psychiatric disorders, including trauma, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, the bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health drives higher rates of chronic physical health conditions among patients with SUD. Untreated physical health conditions can trigger SUD to relapse. Finally, social drivers of health such as housing and income instability and lack of meaningful connectedness and life purpose, substantially impact SUD outcomes.

Any program that is not addressing co-occurring mental health symptoms, physical health, and social drivers of health is not providing adequate treatment.

3. Reimbursing based on the quality, not quantity

Historically, payments for healthcare services are determined by the number of services provided. This fee-for-service reimbursement system has contributed to an overall increase in the amount of services and cost of care, without a commensurate improvement in the quality of services provided.

This is especially prevalent in the addiction treatment landscape, which relies on predetermined 28-day stay durations and compulsory urine drug screens despite evidence that neither alone improves health outcomes. Value-based care demands addiction treatment providers demonstrate measurable outcomes aligned with the quadruple aim:

• Improved health of populations

• Improved patient experience

• Improved care team experience

• Reduced total cost of care

Alternative payment models support the ability to improve quadruple aim outcomes by reimbursing for interventions that are critical, yet traditionally not reimbursable in fee-for-service arrangements, including proactive outreach and engagement to remove barriers to initiating care and maintaining retention; healthcare navigation to prevent disjointed care journeys and resultant attrition; and community-based interventions to address social drivers of health; and peer recovery support services to mitigate risk of illness relapse.

Payers who don’t reimburse, and providers who won’t be reimbursed, based on quality, not quantity, are not committed to improved outcomes.

4. Taking on the Financial Risk of Entire Populations

Value-based care requires a change from an individual patient mindset to a population-based mindset. Instead of being siloed and focused on one illness or one individual, value-based providers build systems and partnerships that enable more efficient and effective touchpoints across an entire patient population, thereby improving the care journey and health outcomes while reducing per capita cost of care. Benchmarked to the quadruple aim, value-based providers should be able to demonstrate process and target outcomes in several domains, including:

• Access — Time from request to first appointment is associated with one-year remission rates. Value-based providers must offer on-demand access to addiction treatment.

• Improved health outcomes — Improved health cannot be narrowed to abstinence and negative urine drug screens. Longitudinal harm reduction models have been shown to reduce overdose deaths and improve health over time, more so than disjointed, abstinence-based episodic care.

• Superior experience — Individuals with addictive disorders routinely face marginalization, stigma, shame and discrimination. Value-based providers must be measuring and constantly improving both the staff experience and the patient experience.

• Total cost of care — Being truly value-based requires a willingness to put revenue at risk if total cost of care doesn’t decrease and health outcomes don’t improve, ideally by population to prevent “cherry-picking” of patients.

Taking on financial risk is the true test of value — and belief in a program and its outcomes — but rarely seen in mental health and addiction treatment.

Fast forward nine months to what really matters — Ben. After relapsing two weeks into his recovery journey at Eleanor Health, Ben has been sober from heroin ever since. While he started his journey unwilling to take medication assisted treatment (MAT), he recognized the need to alter his plan after his relapse. He has repaired his relationship with his family, has a new job, and is moving in with his partner. He also drinks less on the weekend since he started engaging with a different social circle, one developed through the relationship connections made through his Community Recovery Partner. His bi-weekly trips to the Emergency Room have ended. Not every urine drug screen has been negative, and that’s ok — he recognizes that he has to work on his sobriety every day and that it isn’t something that can be “fixed” in 28 days.

Ben’s story is not unique. It is based on a model built on data and evidence, which means thousands came before him. The addiction treatment system is just beginning to recognize the need for value-based care and alternative payment models towards the goal of adequately managing SUD as the chronic medical condition it is. Many providers and payers are piloting bundled payments, but this alone does not represent value-based care. Assuming the financial risk for an individual episode of care is a positive first step, but is only the beginning. To be truly value-based, care providers must be held responsible for the health and satisfaction of populations, and alternative payment models must reimburse for quality and outcomes, not quantity.

Corbin Petro is the CEO & Co-Founder of Eleanor Health, the first addiction and mental health services provider designed to deliver long-term patient recovery outcomes and modeled on value-based care delivery and payments. Eleanor provides whole-person, comprehensive care for mental health and substance misuse in outpatient clinics, virtually, and in the community and patient’s homes.

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Avoid Re-Traumatizing Your Black Employees: A Three Step Guide to Safely Launching An Affirming Corporate Anti-Racism Program

Racism is a chronic, generational, lifelong trauma that pervades and invades the daily lives of Black Americans.  Acute traumas like the police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks lay on top of the chronic trauma, reactivating emotional wounds that constantly lurk under the surface.  The last eight weeks have been an emotional whirlwind for Black Americans, fraught with the lowest lows as we watched George Floyd’s life fade away under the police officer’s knee, yet sprinkled with hope as we watch white America undergo what genuinely seems to be a mass awakening to the pervasive and devastating effects of racism on our lives.  

As a Black woman, and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Eleanor Health, a company that cares deeply for our people, I find myself in dual positions.  One as a Black wife, mother, daughter and sister, navigating the pain and anger of acute racist trauma; the other as a healthcare executive leading our company’s corporate anti-racism response.  I feel deep gratitude to my fellow Co-Founders and Leadership Team who showed up as staunch allies, enthusiastically jumping in to the movement with two feet.  We acted quickly.  Within a few days, we crafted our Black Lives Matter Anti-Racism Statement.  The message to our team members was simple:  We care too much about you to ask you to pretend you’re ok just because you’re at work.  A few days later, we held a company-wide town hall meeting after which we quickly conceptualized a framework for our anti-racism work going forward. A book club sprang up organically and chatter began about what book the club would read first.  We released an application for the Black Lives Matter committee – designed to hold us accountable for an ongoing, sustained anti-racism response that would persist beyond current tensions.  Galvanized by the opportunity to raise our voices against injustice, we acted quickly, and as a unified force.  Honestly, it felt good – or so we thought.  

I was admittedly surprised to receive a hesitant instant message from one of our Black women team members.  She tested the waters – “Wanted to shoot you an article that I came across last night and get your thoughts on it.” I said, “Of course. Send it on over.”  As a Psychiatrist, I recognized something heavy about her message.  She sent over an article titled “When Black People are in Pain, White People Just Join Book Clubs.”  Shortly, thereafter, I received an email from another one of our Black women staff.  It started with “I wrote and deleted this message 50-11 times,” a colloquialism meant to reflect just how unsure she was about raising her voice, as a result of how dangerous doing so had been at past companies. 

I realized, despite knowing that racism is an ongoing trauma, and despite being a victim and survivor of the trauma of racism myself, and despite being in the middle of my own emotional storm (perhaps as a result of being in the middle of my own emotional storm), I had forgotten SAMHSA’s 4Rs of a trauma-informed organization: Realize, Recognize, Respond and Resist.  

I realized that we were falling short on the 4th R.  Despite best intentions, we were re-traumatizing many of our Black team members by moving too quickly without first providing a safe space to process the acute trauma they were experiencing.    As a leadership team, we recognized we needed to take a step back, and listen.  We created Black Eleanor, a support group for those of our team members who identify as Black.  We put every other initiative on hold.  During our first Black Eleanor meeting, as Chief Medical Officer, I listened.  As a Black woman, I realized just how much I was in need of that safe space. 

After our first Black Eleanor meeting, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I’m a psychiatrist for goodness sakes!  When caring for individuals who have experienced trauma, we take an approach that, for this purpose, I’ve simplified to three steps.  First, create a safe space.  Second, allow time for intense emotions physiological responses caused by acute trauma to settle down.  Lastly, spring into action, empowering the survivor’s voice and engaging allies.   As a company, we had made the mistake of skipping over the first two steps, and springing directly into action.  In doing so, we had unintentionally marginalized the very people we needed to support, embrace and empower during a time of acute trauma.  

As we were learning these lessons at Eleanor, several friends and colleagues were reaching out to me about their experiences at other companies.  One story in particular stood out to me.   A fellow Black female physician shared that her job was holding company-wide conversations on race. She and a group of her Black colleagues took the risk of raising their voices to say it may be too painful for some to be mandated into race listening sessions for all.   Their clinical expertise was discounted. They felt compelled to attend in solidarity and in support of others who were not comfortable raising their voices.  Inadvertently, just as we had at Eleanor Health, her company skipped over the critically important first two stages, and as a result had thrust their Black employees into emotionally unsafe, traumatizing spaces. I can only believe this was not their intention.  

And so that brings me to the 3 step guide for safely launching an affirming corporate anti-racism program.  

Step 1: Create safe spaces.  Importantly, Black people are not monolithic. Rather, we are a diverse group of people with varied life experiences – some born and raised in America, others born and raised in other countries; some raised in suburban communities and others in urban cities or rural farmlands; some identifying as cis-gendered heterosexual and others identifying on the LGBTQ+ spectrum; some Republican, some Democrat and others Independent.  In short, the diversity among Black people is infinite.   However, during periods of acute trauma, for many Black people, for whom code-switching and moderating our Blackness are required survival skills that we’ve developed in response to implicit and explicit racism and discrimination throughout our professional experiences, mixed-race spaces by definition are not safe spaces.  Though a difficult metaphor, imagine asking a woman who was recently assaulted by a man to join a mix-gendered support group.  Though the men in the support group are not the man who assaulted her, their very presence is triggering.  To avoid violating the 4th R, dedicate time during the work day for safe spaces. 

Step 2: Allow time and support grounding.   During our first Black Eleanor meeting, several of our Black team members shared that they felt their voices had been co-opted.  They described being injured by what felt like a race to get to the finish line of a 100yd dash, when in actuality, we were just suiting up for the swim leg of an Iron Man.  It seemed that, as a leadership team, we believed a few rapidly-implemented initiatives could fix the wounds of generational injustice, with one of our strategies being an anti-racist book club. Instead, what our Black team members needed from us was time and support to engage their grounding processes – physical, mental and soothing techniques designed to reduce the negative emotions associated with trauma.   My counsel here is that there is no need to rush your organizational initiative – this is a long game, and your employees need time. 

Step 3: Spring into action.  The most important part of Step 3 is empowering the voices of survivors.  That empowerment must reach beyond the executive level to ensure a diversity of Black voices are leading the company’s anti-racism program.  Companies must strike the balance of engaging and galvanizing allies to lift the burden of this work off the backs of Black colleagues, while ensuring Black voices remain at the very core of all initiatives.  You definitely need expert support to successfully strike this balance.  Hire a consultant.  

We are in the midst of what feels like the most unified anti-racism movement I have experienced in my lifetime.  It is my hope that those of us in leadership positions, regardless of race or ethnicity, embrace the responsibility not only to create anti-racism programs, but to do so in a way that is affirming and safe for the very employees on whose behalf we are advocating.  

Nzinga Harrison, MD is Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Eleanor Health,  an innovative network of physician clinics that cares for individuals affected by addiction and Host of In Recovery, a podcast dedicated to changing the conversation around addiction.

from
https://www.eleanorhealth.com/blog/avoid-re-traumatizing-your-black-employees-a-three-step-guide-to-safely-launching-an-affirming-corporate-anti-racism-program

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Social Media and Alcohol During COVID-19: What You Need to Know

If you open up any social media app in the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, you likely don’t have to scroll too far before you encounter a post about drinking at home. Over the past weeks, as millions of people hunkered down amid statewide stay-at-home orders, some have turned to alcohol as a way to pass the time, destress, and socialize virtually–all while posting their beverages on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. 

Friends are sharing countless memes about “Quaran-tinis” and drinking at home. With bars and restaurants closed as non-essential businesses, local out-of-work bartenders are taking their skills to social media, showing followers how to make their favorite cocktail from home. Celebrities like Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, are going live to chat over a beverage. The Food Network star was seen on Instagram Live creating an oversized drink, saying “It’s always cocktail hour in a crisis.” Even alcohol brands are experiencing a substantial uptick in their social engagement as sales surge and more people mention and interact with them on social media.

With so much of our lives on the Internet, it’s understandable that drinking is just another part of life, like vacations, work, or family, that is documented and shared with online friends and followers. These types of posts are often seen as commonplace jokes based on shared experiences that can appeal broadly to all types of people, but especially for three growing drinking cultures: moms, college students, and millennials.

These posts normalize  partying and drinking, especially at an unusual time like this. Studies indicate that posting alcohol-related content on social media is associated with higher alcohol consumption and can play a subtle, suggestive role in influencing another person’s drinking habits. Alcohol-related social media posts can contribute to unhealthy drinking behaviors, such as:

• Excessive drinking or binge drinking

• High-risk actions like unprotected sex, vandalism, theft, or violence

• Feelings of peer pressure to drink

• Feelings of anxiety or depression while or after drinking

• Being physically sick or hungover after drinking

• Influencing others to drink excessively

• Encouraging underage drinking

• Triggering relapse for people recovering from alcohol addiction

• Getting in trouble at work for inappropriate or alcohol-related social media posts

Dr. Harrison, Addiction Expert, Psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer for Eleanor Health says “It’s important to think twice when sharing alcohol-related posts. These posts can come with unintended  impacts because of who may be  influenced or what the post suggests about your own alcohol habits.”

Need help with alcohol during quarantine? Eleanor Health is here to support you during the COVID-19 outbreak. Try us out by joining one of our free virtual support groups or booking a free 15-minute consultation.

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https://www.eleanorhealth.com/blog/social-media-and-alcohol-during-covid-19-what-you-need-to-know

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How to Reduce the Guilt, Shame, and Stigma of Addiction

Despite substance use disorders being declared a public health crisis in the United States, harmful stereotypes continue to persist and negatively impact people with addiction. As a result of stigma, many people hide their substance use because they fear social rejection or criminal punishment. These feelings of guilt and shame only allow addiction to continue and for some people, it may even intensify their substance use.  

For some people, the lack of social understanding and support may cause them to avoid seeking treatment because they feel that getting treatment would negatively impact their jobs or other peoples’ opinions of them. Stigma creates barriers to recovery, which only allows the cycle of addiction to carry on and worsen.

Eliminating stigma is one of the most important steps in supporting people with addiction. As individuals, there are small but meaningful actions that can make a big difference. You can help break the stigma surrounding substance use disorders by:

• Recognizing that addiction is a medical condition

  • Due to ongoing social stigma, addiction is often viewed as a moral failing that results from a person’s bad choices or lack of willpower. 

  • In reality, medical research has proven that addiction is a complex brain illness that can affect any person, regardless of their character, strength, or lifestyle.

  • Learn more about the causes of addiction and how it impacts peoples’ lives.

• Communicating with compassion and respect

  • Changing your word choice to neutral and non-judgemental terms is helpful because it removes negative associations that come with certain words.

  • Let individuals with substance use disorders choose how they are described and respect their choice.

  • Using person-first language to talk about addiction and substance use reflects that a person has a problem, rather than blaming the individual as the reason for the problem. The National Institute on Drug Abuse recommends these terms:

    • Instead of saying “addict” or “junkie,” say “person with substance use disorder.”

    • Instead of saying “alcoholic” or “drunk,” say “person with alcohol use disorder.”

    • Instead of saying “drug abuse,” say “drug misuse” or “harmful use.”

    • Instead of saying “alcohol abuse,” say “unhealthy alcohol use” or “harmful alcohol use.”

• Having open conversations about addiction with loved ones, friends, and your community

  • Stigma will persist if we don’t openly discuss addiction and substance use. Talking about addiction as a medical condition helps to humanize it and remove negative connotations from the general public opinion. 

By pushing addiction out of the shadows and into compassionate conversations, more people with substance or alcohol use disorders may feel comfortable seeking treatment and starting their recovery journey.

from
https://www.eleanorhealth.com/blog/how-to-reduce-the-guilt-shame-and-stigma-of-addiction

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A Guide for Safer Substance Use During the COVID-19 Outbreak

As the COVID-19 outbreak spreads across the world, certain groups are considered especially at risk, including older adults, people with serious underlying medical conditions, or those with weakened immune systems. Along with these groups, people with substance use disorders are also vulnerable to the virus.

Due to social distancing measures, people with addiction may be unable to find a supply or safe way to use. While decreased substance use or the idea of “quitting cold turkey” may seem like a positive consequence of coronavirus, in reality, it poses significant health risks. 

If a person with addiction suddenly stops their substance use, it could cause severely uncomfortable or dangerous withdrawal symptoms, including nausea, hallucinations, and seizures. For some people, these symptoms may be so intolerable that it could lead them to use substances in higher amounts or less safe ways and cause an overdose.

Some people with addiction may also have other physical health problems, like weakened immune systems or respiratory issues from drug use. If a person becomes infected COVID-19, it could worsen their existing health issues, especially breathing problems.

In addition to following the general public health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are certain precautions that people with addiction can take to avoid COVID-19 and use substances safely. Some of these tips are easier to follow than others but every action helps prevent the spread of the virus.

Hygiene and Health Tips

• Wash your hands often with soap for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Cough or sneeze into your elbow, instead of your hands.

• Avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth.

• Sanitize high-touch surfaces in your home and any drug packages you receive with bleach or antimicrobial or alcohol-based wipes.

• Stock up on any necessary prescription medications that you may need over the next several weeks.

• Practice social distancing as much as possible. Minimize your contact with other people to stop the spread of the virus.

• If you are feeling sick, let other people close to you know that you are experiencing symptoms. Isolate yourself as much as possible to avoid spreading it.

Safer Drug Use Tips

• Don’t share drinks, syringes, or mouthpieces like vapes, cigarettes, pipes, bongs, or joints with other people. If you have to share, follow these steps to reduce your risk of getting sick:

  • Drinks: Wipe the drink with an alcohol-based sanitizing wipe.

  • Syringes: Dilute bleach by combining one part bleach with ten parts of water. Use the diluted bleach mixture to clean the syringe by rinsing, loading, and expelling the mixture from it. After using bleach, rinse twice with water. If you don’t have bleach, rinse with water three times.

Mouthpieces: Wipe the entire mouthpiece with an alcohol-based sanitizing wipe.

• When using, prepare your drugs yourself with clean hands and on a sanitized surface. If you are unable to prepare them yourself, stay with the person doing the preparation and make sure they wash their hands and clean surfaces.

• To avoid any potential overdose, don’t use drugs alone but be sure to keep six feet of distance between you and other people. If you are alone, call someone while you are using them so they can contact emergency services if you become unresponsive.

• If possible, plan and prepare yourself for any potential withdrawal or overdose. During this time, emergency services may be limited or slow to respond to 911 calls. You may also lose access to your substance supply. If you are able, stock up on your substance supply and other items like naloxone, clean syringes, and fentanyl testing strips.

• Remember, there is no bad time to engage in addiction treatment. Even in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, treatment centers, like Eleanor Health, are still available and ready to help.

Have questions about keeping safe and reducing harm during the COVID-19 outbreak? Eleanor Health is here to help. Contact one of our Addiction Treatment Specialists today or join one our free online support groups.

from
https://www.eleanorhealth.com/blog/a-guide-for-safer-substance-use-during-the-covid-19-outbreak

from Eleanor Health Durham https://eleanorhealthdurham.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-guide-for-safer-substance-use-during.html
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from Eleanor Health Durham https://eleanorhealthdurham.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/a-guide-for-safer-substance-use-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/
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