RIZE Massachusetts Report Calls for Bolstering Hospital Inpatient Addiction Consult Services

March 4, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Michelle McKenzie, Ball Consulting Group, LLC
Phone: 617-243-9950; Email: michelle@ballcg.com

RIZE Massachusetts Report Calls for Bolstering Hospital Inpatient Addiction Consult Services

Evidence-Based Programs in Hospital Setting Can Reduce Effects of Substance Use Disorder

BOSTON
March 4, 2024

A new report from RIZE Massachusetts, an independent nonprofit foundation solely dedicated to funding and creating solutions to end the overdose crisis in Massachusetts, shows how inpatient hospital addiction consult service (ACS) programs can effectively identify people at risk of overdose and connect them to services, and calls for the development of more ACS programs.

Using data from leading hospital ACS programs statewide, the report – “Inpatient Addiction Consult Services in Massachusetts: Insights and recommendations from six model programs” – outlines the barriers and challenges these programs face and offers recommendations and guidance on developing and expanding these evidence-based programs in the Commonwealth and nationally. The report was produced by the Institute for Community Health, a nonprofit consulting organization.

“Many individuals in inpatient care have a substance use disorder (SUD) that is left untreated and the risk of opioid-related overdose mortality is heightened following a hospital discharge,” said RIZE President and CEO Julie Burns. “The inpatient hospital setting is the perfect opportunity to identify at-risk individuals and provide accessible harm reduction and recovery services that they desperately need once they return to the community.”

Research has shown that ACS programs provide a solution for maximizing patient and provider satisfaction, increasing SUD treatment post-discharge, reducing hospital readmission, lessening addiction severity and substance use and potentially reducing overdoses and improving additional health outcomes.

“Despite the strong evidence, these programs are not widely utilized and remain unstandardized,” said Ranjani Paradise, Director of Evaluation at the Institute for Community Health and lead author of the report. “Additionally, stigma among hospital staff, including physicians, has been shown to lead to unpleasant encounters and contribute to patients with substance use disorders fearing hospitals and avoiding treatment. Without ACS protocols, individuals may leave the hospital early due to withdrawal symptoms or use drugs unsafely without the knowledge of their care team.”

Bridge clinics, low-threshold programs that provide rapid initiation of medication for SUD treatment as well as stabilization during high-risk transitions, are seen as a key missing link in post-discharge care to manage risks and lessen harm in the community.

Three key recommendations for building out an effective system of hospital addiction care across Massachusetts include:

  • Improving ACS programs by implementing policies and protocols that support harm reduction goals and address stigma among hospital staff and leadership, so as to increase patient trust and comfort in receiving treatment.
  • Improving connections to services after discharge in order to reap long term benefits of ACS programs by providing patients with appropriate follow-up care, expanding access to methadone and investing in bridge clinics and community-based harm reduction and treatment services.
  • Facilitating sustainability by optimizing the insurance reimbursement system, increasing reimbursement rates and coverage of addiction services, continuing research on the return-on-investment of ACS programs and using government and philanthropic funding to cover remaining costs.

The report also offers implementation guidelines for hospitals to initiate or expand ACS programs. RIZE has committed funding to support the development of broad-based, multi-stakeholder networks between hospitals, outpatient providers, community-based organizations, clients and their families, and other key stakeholders to improve linkages to social needs, community, and recovery supports in the near future.

“We are proud to see hospitals across Massachusetts embrace ACS programs, which by now are a proven tool in introducing critical SUD services to patients on the front lines of care,” said Leigh Simons, Senior Director of Healthcare Policy at the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. “These are lifesaving interventions, but we agree they cannot reach their full potential without better access to post-hospital services, improved insurance supports, and bold efforts to build and train the healthcare workforce. MHA and our members applaud RIZE for its leadership in advancing ACS programs and its partnership to improve equitable SUD treatment throughout the commonwealth.”

The report is available online here.

About RIZE Massachusetts

RIZE Massachusetts Foundation is solely dedicated to funding and creating solutions to end the overdose crisis. Guided by those with lived experience and unafraid of new ideas, RIZE is building networks, designing programming, and supporting community partners who are using novel approaches to preventing overdose and increasing access to treatment. Learn more at www.rizema.org.

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Position Summary

Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic), funded by the MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and powered by RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE), is a partnership like no other. It is a unique, public-private collaboration designed to support initiatives that are addressing the opioid overdose crisis in communities that have been historically underserved and have experienced a high rate of opioid-related overdose deaths.

The funding for Mosaic comes from the Massachusetts Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF), which resulted from the historic legal effort to demand justice from several private companies for the harms caused by the opioid epidemic. This is one of the first public-private partnerships of this magnitude using settlement funds for community-led initiatives.

In partnership with BSAS and municipalities receiving opioid abatement funds, RIZE manages the Municipal Training and Technical Assistance (Muni TTA) Program. This program aligns with Mosaic’s mission to ensure that opioid abatement funds are invested and remain in the communities most deeply impacted by the crisis while also fueling transformative change through grassroots, community-led efforts.

The Muni TTA project manager provides project management, data, and operational support, ensuring the Muni TTA Program runs smoothly, is well documented, and is grounded in data. This role translates program strategy into concrete workplans, tracking systems, and reporting products, and provides day-to-day task direction to the program coordinator on project deliverables.

RIZE seeks someone for this position who is passionate about ending the overdose crisis and unafraid of new ideas. Success will require a positive, can-do, learning mindset and a collaborative, team-oriented approach. We are looking for candidates who understand how complex and interconnected issues, such as funding, data systems, and municipal government structures, intersect with addressing the overdose crisis.

The project manager supports the implementation of the Muni TTA workplan and Salesforce data infrastructure, coordinates monthly and quarterly reporting, provides project management support to four regional community advisory boards (CABs), and manages the logistics and content pipeline for the program's webinar series and newsletter. This position reports to the chief program officer (CPO) and works closely with the senior program officer (SPO).

 

Key Responsibilities

1. Workplan & Data Management

  • Oversee the Muni TTA workplan and Asana project management structure across six program goals: Proactive Outreach; Communications and Engagement; Quality Assurance and Team Development; Evaluation and Reporting; Intermunicipal Collaboration and Partnerships; and Community Advisory Boards. Monitor and keep progress, and identify risks or adjustments needed to keep deliverables on track
  • Set and monitor Salesforce data quality standards, oversee the Mosaic Muni TTA dashboard in coordination with the program coordinator, and produce reports; identify data quality issues and recommend adjustments to tracked metrics as the program evolves.
  • Monitor case documentation and tracking; compile monthly quality-review summaries for senior management review.
  • Support municipal capacity assessments by synthesizing results, identifying gaps, and helping the SPO draft action plans that reflect program priorities and municipal needs.

2. Reporting & Leadership Support

  • Compile regular qualitative reports, drafting the consolidated narrative of outcomes, barriers, and strategic adjustments for the SPO to finalize.
  • Develop regular progress updates, data summaries, and briefing materials for senior leadership, translating program activity and outcomes into clear talking points for internal review and external stakeholder discussions.
  • Coordinate senior leadership meeting preparation by identifying needed inputs, shaping agendas around key decisions, and ensuring materials are ready for review and follow-up. Coordinate post meeting follow-up.
  • Participate in cross-sector coordination meetings as needed to support data, reporting, or project management needs.

3. Community Advisory Board & Event Support

  • Provide project management for CAB implementation tracking progress and outcome metrics.
  • Direct administrative support for CABs, including materials preparation and outreach coordination.
  • Coordinate logistics, timelines, materials, follow-up, and slide preparation for regional and statewide presentations, meetings, and events.

4. Communications & Content Pipeline

  • Project-manage Mosaic TTA webinars: in coordination with the program coordinator maintain the topic and speaker pipeline, coordinate scheduling and logistics, and track post-session evaluations.
  • Project-manage Muni TTA bulletin and newsletter production, coordinating content collection, drafting, and oversee program coordinator with distribution timelines, and tracking engagement analytics.
  • Direct the program coordinator's development of training materials and slide decks; review for quality and program alignment before routing to senior leadership for approval.

 

Qualifications

Required

  • Strong organizational and time management skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and virtual meeting platforms
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Preferred

  • Experience in public health, behavioral health, or harm reduction
  • Familiarity with workforce development initiatives
  • Experience supporting coalitions or multi-partner collaborations
  • Experience working with communities disproportionately impacted by substance use and overdose

Core Competencies

  • Commitment to harm reduction philosophy and health equity
  • Cultural humility and trauma-informed approach
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
  • Strong interpersonal skills and collaborative mindset
  • High level of discretion and professionalism
  • Bachelor's degree in public health, public administration, business, or a related field and a minimum of five years of relevant experience; or a master's degree and a minimum of two years of experience.
  • Demonstrated project management experience, ideally within a public health, government, or nonprofit setting.
  • Strong data and systems management skills; experience with Salesforce, or a comparable CRM/database strongly preferred.
  • Experience managing workplans, timelines, and reporting cycles.
  • Experience with supervision preferred.
  • Excellent written communication skills, including experience drafting reports and briefing materials for review by senior staff.
  • Proficiency with Salesforce, Asana, Microsoft Office 365, and virtual conferencing platforms; familiarity with Canva, WordPress, and Constant Contact a plus.
  • Knowledge of the Massachusetts opioid settlement funding landscape and municipal government structures preferred.

Skills, Abilities, Attributes

  • Strong organizational skills and sound judgment in a fast-paced, small-team, collegial environment.
  • Comfortable managing competing priorities and shifting timelines with minimal oversight.
  • Demonstrated track record of sustained high-quality, independent work in fast-paced environments.
  • Effective relationship-builder able to coordinate across internal teams and external stakeholders.
  • Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential or sensitive information.
  • Motivated by a keen sense of mission and values with a willingness to embrace and actively support RIZE's agenda.

Work Environment

The Municipal TTA project manager is a full-time, hybrid role. RIZE is in downtown Boston; travel, primarily in-state, will be required for meetings and events as needed. This role may require evening and occasional weekend work.