CLEVELAND – The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium has released a new video, highlighting the collaborative work under way by area hospitals to address the opioid crisis in the region.

The Opioid Consortium video features representatives of the membership, who speak about the contributions being made to the overall effort. Appearing in the video are:

• Theodore Parran, M.D., co-medical director, Rosary Hall, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center
• Randy Jernejcic, M.D., vice president, Clinical Integration, University Hospitals and physician chair, Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium
• David Streem, M.D., medical director, Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center, Cleveland Clinic
• Joan Papp, M.D., medical director, Office of Opioid Safety, The MetroHealth System
• Lisa Anderson, M.S.N., R.N., senior vice president, Member Services, The Center for Health Affairs

The Opioid Consortium video was developed as an educational tool and will be shared during health care conferences, at member hospitals, and throughout the community.

About the Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium

Formed in 2016 when the region’s health systems came together to develop a hospital-specific response to the crisis, the Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium is housed at The Center for Health Affairs. It is a partnership of The Center for Health Affairs, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio.

The work of the Opioid Consortium is built on a strategic plan that focuses on the following key areas: communication; education and patient management; harm reduction; treatment; prevention; data; and public policy.

Recent activities include the development and imminent launch of an education program aimed at helping nurses more effectively identify and care for patients with opioid use disorder, and the commencement of an initiative to increase access to nasal naloxone on hospital campuses. The Opioid Consortium is also working to achieve public policy solutions to the crisis, by encouraging state and federal legislative and rule-making bodies to enact policies such as a joint regulatory statement by state licensure boards encouraging the utilization of medication-assisted treatment and federal legislation that would improve care coordination for patients with substance use disorders.

ABOUT ST. VINCENT CHARITY MEDICAL CENTER

Cleveland’s first and only downtown hospital, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is the city’s faith-based, high-quality health care provider. Our distinguished doctors and caregivers are devoted to treating every patient with clinical excellence and compassionate care. Home to the renowned Spine and Orthopedic Institute and the Center for Bariatric Surgery, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has services in cardiovascular, emergency medicine, primary care, occupational health, behavioral health and addiction medicine. Owned by the Sisters of Charity Health System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has provided Care Beyond Medicine since 1865.