Orlando Health expands Opioid Navigator Program

Orlando Health is expanding its Opioid Navigator Program. 

The program, which was launched in 2019 at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center,  "directs patients in emergency departments and hospitals to resources about Opioid Abuse Disorder and guides them to appropriate post-discharge treatment options," according to an Orlando Health news release.

To expand the program, Orlando Health is using money from a portion of settlement funds distributed to Orange County from national litigation. The litigation involved "companies that made, sold or distributed opioid painkillers," according to the release. 

Orlando Health will be adding two Opioid Navigators, who are licensed clinical social workers. The funds also underwrite salaries for two certified recovery peer specialists who will help patients affected by Opioid Abuse Disorder. The program will be expanded Orlando Health — Dr. P. Phillips Hospital and Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital.

According to the release, data from the Florida Department of Health shows Health Central Hospital receives the second highest number of opioid-related emergency room visits in the Orlando Health system in Orange County. 

The Opioid Navigator Program also is at Orlando Health — Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, Orlando Health — Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Orlando Health — South Seminole Hospital.

“Orlando Health provides crucial support to patients who are vulnerable after an overdose, but we recognize that not everyone will be immediately ready to seek treatment for opioid addiction,” said Jaime Bridges, director of the Opioid Substance Use Disorders program at Orlando Health, in the release. “The recovery process can be overwhelming, so we meet patients where they are and our offer to help has no expiration date.”