CAMC Addiction Care Service
In 2017, 49.6 of every 100,000 people died of
an opioid overdose in West Virginia, giving
the Mountain State the highest opioid-related
death rate in the country, according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Charleston
Area Medical Center (CAMC) has served
those affected by the epidemic through the
West Virginia Hospital Association Opioid
Collaborative, Great Rivers Regional System
of Addiction Care, West Virginia University
COAT program, Premier Collaborative, Drug
Free Moms and Babies Program, Ryan White
Program, Recovery Point of West Virginia
and Cardinal Health Collaborative Practice
program.
However, CAMC’s senior leaders wanted
to combine the se ef for ts into one
multidisciplinary area. The CAMC Opioid
Team was formed in 2018 to focus on
improving operational activities, treatment
and stewardship. Since its inception, it has
created a variety of training courses to inform
stakeholders of the risk of opioid use disorder
and ways to reduce stigma. It has also worked
member isn’t. The platform is currently
being used for urgent care visits with
hopes of providing renal, urology, oncol-
ogy, psychology and many other services.
“This platform is important to West
Virginia because it will be the vehicle to
provide care in the future,” says Harless.
In her role as the associate administrator
for the ambulatory division at CAMC,
Harless works alongside ER physicians
and hospitalists and cancer center urol-
ogy telemedicine and addiction services
staff to design innovative ways to ensure
West Virginians have access to the care
they need.
“I love being able to assist these wonder
ful teams in growing their departments
in order to better serve our patients,”
she says.
Harless has had many mentors who have
influenced her leadership and manage-
ment style, inspiring her to spend time
mentoring and teaching the state’s next
generation.
to improve the quality of care for those with
substance use disorder by implementing
new screening tools, initiating treatment
and referring the individuals to addiction
consultation services. The team has also
administered a variety of other services,
including the Baby First Program, which
identifies pregnant women with substance
use disorder and refers them to necessary
recovery services, and the Drug Diversion
Prevention Committee, which develops new
policies and procedures.
Photo by Kelly Lyons Cassell.
In 2019, the formalized Addiction Care Service
was developed to accomplish even more for
those impacted by substance use disorder.
While the team has provided a variety of
services and programs to the community, it
has plans for continued growth and outreach,
including continuing education on substance
use disorder and stigma, standardizing
pain management for a variety of patients,
developing and implementing alternatives
to opioids and creating new processes for
naloxone prescriptions.
“I believe it is my job to help develop
the next generation of leaders,” she says.
“It’s extremely fulfilling to see folks I have
hired into the system grow into mature
leaders who are shaping health care in
Southern West Virginia. I had some great
people who took time to guide me along
the way. I’m really just paying it forward.”
From mentoring young West Virginians
to introducing innovative technology that
makes care attainable for all who reside
here, Harless’ passion for the state, its
people and CAMC is evident in every-
thing she does.
“One of the reasons I love working
at CAMC is the dedication to quality
they instill in everything they do,” she
says. “I’m always filled with pride to see
CAMC is ahead of the curve. What an
honor to be able to work in a field that
touches so many West Virginians’ lives
for a company that is making state-of-
the-art care available to all.”
W W W. W V E X E C U T I V E . C O M
WINTER 2020
77