When someone at Piedmont Newnan Hospital asks for help with substance use, a peer recovery coach can come to their bedside. FOX 5 Atlanta reports that, through the hospital’s partnership with Coweta FORCE, a coach typically arrives within an hour.
That timing is what caught my attention. In this work, someone can be willing to accept help right now and feel very differently by the time we reach them. Getting a person into the room while that willingness is there can make the difference between a conversation about treatment and actually taking the next step.
We see the same need in our work at Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge in Kensington, Philadelphia. We need to be ready to respond when someone is ready to get well. That means having people who can connect with them, help arrange care and work through what might keep them from getting there. A delay can mean losing an opportunity we may not get back that day.
An emergency-room visit gives us a chance to reach someone who is suffering and may be open to help. Having recovery support available at the bedside means that person can talk to someone before leaving the hospital and facing those next decisions alone.
Coweta FORCE’s coaches bring their own recovery experience to those conversations. They listen, answer questions, connect people with support and stay in touch after the hospital visit. There is value in hearing from someone who has lived through addiction and can help you see a way forward.
FOX 5 reports 408 referrals and 106 treatment placements since the program began in 2023. What interests me is the work behind those connections: showing up, building enough trust for someone to accept help, and helping them get to care.
I want to see more of this. Being there at the bedside can help turn a person’s willingness into a next step toward treatment and recovery. We need systems that can respond while that person is still saying yes.