HAP’s Opioid Learning Action Network seeks to increase the number of patients entering evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder and prevent overdose deaths

Harrisburg, PA, July 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

The opioid crisis has taken a devastating toll on Pennsylvania. During the three-year period from 2015 to 2017, there were 13,408 drug-related overdose deaths. Pennsylvania’s hospital community has worked with state and local governments, as well as community organizations, to address the crisis through prescription guidance, overdose prevention education, warm hand-offs, drug takeback initiatives, and individual facility programs.

Because of these efforts, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) is honored to announce the formation of HAP’s Opioid Learning Action Network (LAN). The LAN is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which announced last year that it would award $50 million in grants across several states to combat opioid addition. Pennsylvania was selected as the first state to participate in the initiative.

The LAN is a two-year learning collaborative open to all Pennsylvania hospitals. It is designed to demonstrate that, by working together, hospitals can adopt evidence-based best practices to address this tragic public health problem and save lives. The LAN will be administered by Vital Strategies and evaluated by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians will serve in an advisory capacity for the project.

The LAN will provide members with opportunities to engage in collaborative learning through:

• Annual in-person meetings 
• Regional gatherings with facilitated information sharing 
• Webinars and other distance learning technologies
• Collaborative website, metrics, and performance tracking
• Office hours and virtual small group discussions with clinical/administrative champions and technical experts

“Pennsylvania’s hospital staff know all too well the tragic realities and consequences of the opioid crisis, and they see the impacts of it every day in the communities they serve,” said Andy Carter, president and CEO of HAP.

“Through HAP’s Opioid LAN, the hospital community has a chance to share best practices and lessons learned, and work with each other to find ways to prevent overdoses and help patients receive the evidence-based treatment they need to recover. We are grateful for the trust that Bloomberg Philanthropies has placed in our hospital community and for the ability to partner with Vital Strategies to provide a platform for hospitals to come together to identify and scale the solutions necessary to end this crisis.”

ABOUT HAP:  HAP is a statewide membership services organization that advocates for nearly 240 Pennsylvania acute and specialty care, primary care, subacute care, long-term care, home health, and hospice providers, as well as the patients and communities they serve. Additional information about HAP is available online at www.haponline.org.

Rachel Moore
The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania
(717) 561-5342
rmoore@haponline.org

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