Carilion ED Bridge to Treatment Program
“It is the untreated patient who overdoses; getting more persons with an opioid use disorder into treatment saves lives,” says Dr. Cheri Hartman, project consultant of Carilion’s Emergency Department (ED) Bridge to Treatment program. This belief has been the driving force behind Carilion’s innovative ED bridge approach to treating opioid use disorder (OUD), which received a $1.9 million grant in 2023 from the Virginia Department of Health to expand the program statewide.
Launched in 2018, the ED Bridge to Treatment program rapidly connects OUD patients in the ED—whether they present with a non-fatal overdose, acute withdrawal symptoms, or are actively seeking treatment—with appropriate follow-up care. This model, based on evidence from academic centers like Yale and Harvard, ensures a seamless transition from emergency care to long-term recovery, supported by immediate prescriptions, peer guidance, and swift access to treatment providers. The bridge program has been deeply impactful: before the program, only 10 percent of ED patients with acute OUD symptoms received follow-up treatment. However, in the first year after implementation of the bridge program, rates soared to 82 percent, and remained strong in following years.
This compelling success led to the grant and visions of replicating these results statewide. Now, Carilion is sharing its effective model with seven additional hospitals across Virginia, offering ongoing technical support and training. To facilitate this, a bridge toolkit was created which outlines detailed strategies. As Dr. Hartman underscores, this expansion is not just about increasing access to treatment—it’s about changing the way addiction is approached in emergency medicine, ensuring that compassionate care becomes the standard across the state.
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Contact information: Gave Anderson, Project Consultant, gwanderson@carilionclinic.org