Chesterfield County Jail first institution to implement new device aiding opioid recovery

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Chesterfield County Jail has become the first institution in the nation to adopt a new FDA-approved device aimed at alleviating withdrawal symptoms among inmates struggling with opioid addiction.

The Masimo Bridge device utilizes neuromodulation technology to significantly reduce the discomfort associated with drug withdrawal. The device sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the brain that contribute to withdrawal symptoms.

Most Chesterfield Jail inmates have endured multiple cycles of opioid addiction and withdrawal processes previously.

“What people don’t understand is a lot of people suffering from addiction continue to use drugs not to get high — they continue to use drugs out of fear of going into withdrawal if they ever stop,” Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard said.

The Masimo Bridge is drug-free and non-surgical. According to authorities, it operates by delivering electrical impulses to nerves around the brain, effectively mitigating withdrawal symptoms by over 80%. Patients have reported experiencing relief within just 20 minutes of use, with the device worn continuously over a five-day period.

Kerri Rhodes, Director of Mental Health at the jail, emphasized that while the device doesn’t entirely eliminate withdrawal symptoms, it significantly reduces the pain associated with the process, making it easier for addicts to get through withdrawal and detox.

Rhodes lost her son to opioids, and described watching him go through withdrawal as the most painful thing she’s ever experienced.

“If we have a device, and people can know that and come here, we can use this device to help them and, I think, take one of those barriers away from turning themselves in,” Rhodes said. “People tell us all the time ‘I wanted to turn myself in but couldn’t go through withdrawal.'”

Chelsea Caporale, a former inmate says she has been in and out of prison for 13 years, and has been through withdrawal from drugs like heroin over 20 different times.

She said previous attempts to detox left her incapacitated for days, unable to eat, drink or even stand. However, once she used the bridge device, she said she was able to sleep, eat and walk within hours.

“It makes everything calm,” Caporale said. “Your body’s not tense, you’re not aching, your muscles don’t hurt, your skin doesn’t feel weird.”

Caporale has since been released from jail and has been clean for 60 days now.

Multiple inmates attested to the transformative impact of the Masimo Bridge, revealing that, since using the device, they have not experienced withdrawal symptoms and have maintained sobriety.

Michelle Willis, a current inmate who used the device to get through her latest withdrawal, said they put it on her after seven days of throwing up on herself, not eating or drinking anything, not sleeping and feeling uncomfortable in her skin.

She described feeling the effects of the device within minutes and being able to fully function a little while after. That was six months ago and she said she’s been clean ever since.

“Knowing that the bridge is there to help you. Even if you relapse, you can come back and they can put it back on,” Willis said. “It’s amazing, I never knew that anything like that existed until I came here.”

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