Small Rural Hospital Helps Build ‘Bridge’ to Addiction Services with New Mobile Clinic

A small rural Massachusetts hospital is breaking down barriers to Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment with an innovative new behavioral health program.

Alongside several key community partners, Greenfield-based Baystate Franklin Medical Center recently established its mobile, home-based treatment service for its rural community, located about 100 miles northwest of Boston. Fueled by a $1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, the Franklin County and North Quabbin Bridge Clinic aims to help meet patients where they are — be it a recovery center, library, a home or the Salvation Army.

“When people come to the hospital, it’s typically an emergency, and any idea about planning what’s going to happen next is very challenging when you’re working in a place where it’s all about that crisis,” says Cheryl Pascucci, program director of Population Health & Integration at Baystate. “So, meeting with people in a space where they’re living their day, they’re most comfortable and feel most safe, they’re able to have a conversation with a health care professional who they trust. It can be and it is very impactful.”

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