NJ’s hospitals require financial and programmatic support to treat addiction, prevent overdoses

Newly released data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention shows that drug overdoses and deaths rose again last year. While this fact is appalling and tragic, it’s no surprise to New Jersey hospitals such as Bergen New Bridge Medical Center that are increasingly called on to treat substance use disorder.

Bergen New Bridge provides care to more than 15,000 adults struggling with substance use disorder and drug use each year, with patients coming from across New Jersey and surrounding states. That number has grown steadily for more than a decade and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – to the point that we have taken to calling addiction the pandemic inside the pandemic.

Political leaders are beginning to recognize how complex it is to address the crisis societally. Sadly, health care providers are also learning how complicated and frustrating it can be to provide effective treatment for the individuals who struggle with addiction.

Bergen, the most populated county in New Jersey, saw 220 drug-related deaths in 2021, of nearly 3,123 such deaths statewide (about 7%), and up 19% over the year before (per NJ-DOH & NJ Cares). Four people overdosed and died in Bergen County the first week of May 2022 alone. But aggregating the instances into statistics sadly contributes to the notion that all overdoses are the same, all those afflicted with substance use disorder are the same – and once we’re able to identify a silver bullet treatment, we’d have the problem licked.

We’ve learned the hard way that there is no silver bullet. Each of those deaths, each of those individuals, each of the circumstances that led to overdose, is unique. Every individual struggling with drug use disorder comes to us at a different place along their addiction journey and presents a different cluster of needs. While there is overlap, essentially every individual needs a custom-tailored treatment plan. Moreover, what’s rarely acknowledged is that substance use disorder patients typically are struggling with other medical and/or behavioral health conditions and require dual-diagnosis care.

We know this by experience. Bergen New Bridge has specialized in treating substance use disorder for decades and our approach has evolved as our understanding of the care this population requires has evolved in breadth and complexity.

To effectively address the needs of this population, Bergen New Bridge now admits patients into treatment seven-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day. Each individual is assessed upon entry and guided to an appropriate type and level of care as defined by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. We have four physicians board-certified in addiction psychiatry or addiction medicine at the ready when referred by any of our experienced certified substance use counselors.

We are a full-service, accredited, safety-net hospital and teaching hospital affiliated with Rutgers Medical School, so we’re also able to address co-occurring medical and behavioral conditions and provide a continuity of care through outpatient and inpatient programs – up to and including treatment in our onsite 84-bed inpatient medical detoxification unit. Of course, abstinence, appropriate intervention, family participation, and sustained support are the key elements of any treatment plan.

All of these resources have been marshalled by Care Plus Bergen, the County of Bergen, and the Bergen County Improvement Authority to position Bergen New Bridge to better address the opioid epidemic on behalf of all New Jersey residents, in all communities, regardless of their ability to pay.

The overarching message is that we, at Bergen New Bridge offer the complete continuum of care, we have unrestricted access to programs and providers. We recognize the complexity of the disease and have been at the forefront of innovation and leveraging our connection to our communities and stakeholders, we have successfully saved thousands of lives by our engaged, holistic approach to this epidemic.

Not all hospitals are prepared to treat this population and not all treatment centers are able to care for the breadth and depth of co-occurring medical and behavioral health needs these patients present.

Our political leaders appear intent on identifying ways to end the opioid/substance abuse epidemic. We applaud that effort. But until the societal “cure” is found someday, we urge them to also provide financial and programmatic support for hospitals like Bergen New Bridge to expand and enhance the services the victims of this epidemic require today.

Deborah Visconi is the president and chief executive officer for Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus.