PUBLIC HEALTH
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and Wellness will champion this goal .
Healing
4 . Increase Harm Reduction . Since it was established in 2015 , Louisville ’ s syringe exchange program has had more than 16,000 participants . We must expand the city ’ s syringe exchange capacity in order to continue to prevent needle sharing and the spread of infectious disease . We must also make naloxone even more widely available to prevent overdose deaths . The plan calls for the establishment of at least three additional syringe exchange mobile sites for total of seven community sites by July 2019 . It also calls for increasing naloxone availability and training . Volunteers of America and the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition will champion this goal .
5 . Expand Diversion from Emergency Rooms and Jail . The plan calls for expanding diversion from jails and emergency rooms though programs like the Centerstone Living Room Project . The project links those with substance use disorder or severe mental illness with the help they need and saves tax dollars in the long run . The plan calls for full funding of the initiative to expand its range of services and to make it fully operational 24 hours a day , seven days a week . Centerstone Kentucky will champion this goal .
6 . Improve Connection to Treatment . The plan calls for expanding peer support in emergency rooms to better connect patients to treatment . It calls for funding and implementing Project ASSERT ( Alcohol & Substance Abuse Services , Education , and Referral to Treatment ) in Louisville . The program has proven successful in cities such as Boston and New Haven , Conn . It counsels and advocates for emergency room patients with substance use disorder and links them to treatment . University of Louisville Hospital will champion this goal .
9 . Make Expungement Affordable . Even after recovery , it can be very difficult to resume your life and find a job or secure decent housing if your past substance misuse has led you to commit crime . Even if you have been acquitted or if the charges have been dismissed , the arrest often stays on your record . The plan calls for expanding recovery support by modifying existing legislation to make expungement easier and more affordable , including : automatic expungement after 30 days for dismissed misdemeanors , dismissed felonies and acquittals . The Louisville Urban League will champion this goal .
10 . Improve Job Placement . The plan calls for establishing a taskforce to determine how best to connect people in recovery to quality employment in Louisville and to expand the number of employers hiring people in recovery by at least 10 percent . Kentuckiana Works and the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness will champion this goal .
Physicians can play a pivotal role in preventing and treating substance use disorder . Whether it be in private practice , in a clinic or in the ER , each of us sees patients every day with conditions as varied as endocarditis or cellulitis , hepatitis or depression . We may know or at least suspect that an underlying issue is substance use disorder . Coming Together for Hope , Healing and Recovery includes a detailed appendix of community treatment resources with notations on the various treatment options available at each facility . I urge you to use it .
You can access the entire Coming Together for Hope , Healing and Recovery report at https :// louisvilleky . gov / government / health-wellness . If you have questions or comments , you can reach me at Sarah . Moyer @ louisvilleky . gov .
Dr . Moyer is the director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health .
7 . Measure the Quality of Treatment Programs . We need to be able to measure the effectiveness of our community ’ s treatment facilities . The plan calls for developing 10 quality metrics for substance use disorder treatment providers in Louisville . The University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences will champion this goal .
Recovery
8 . Establish Guidelines for Sober Living Houses . As things presently stand , anyone can hang out a shingle and call their facility a sober living house or a recovery residence . People recovering from substance use disorder deserve better ! The plan calls for a city ordinance that provides guidelines for such facilities . The Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and the Treatment Advisory Group will champion this goal .
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