Center for Recovery Medicine

Substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder, can take a huge toll on a person’s life — especially their health. Through the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Center for Inclusion Health, our growing recovery medicine services are giving patients and families access to life-changing substance use treatment.

An accomplished, multidisciplinary team of recovery specialists leads our Center of Excellence for Opioid Use Disorders. We help people with opioid use and other substance use disorders get the treatment they need and deserve, when and where they need it. You can live a healthier, fuller life beyond addiction, and we can help you get there.

Recovery medicine services: Why choose us?

Our expanding recovery medicine program gives people the care and support they need to recover from substance use disorders. People affected by substance use disorders benefit from our:

• Range of substance use treatments: We offer people and families affected by substance use disorders different types of services to guide their recovery. Treatment options include medication-assisted treatment (medication that reduces the symptoms of withdrawal, often paired with behavioral health therapy) and outpatient therapy.
• Highly-trained care team: To break the heavy hold of addiction, you must first understand the science behind it. Our care team includes board-certified recovery medicine specialists, nurses, social workers, behavioral health specialists, and certified recovery specialists. Each member of our team understands the unique needs of people affected by substance use disorders.
• Extensive support: Everyone faces unique challenges during the recovery process. Our team will connect you with the community-based resources you need to be successful. These resources include assistance with transportation, food insecurity, employment, or housing issues.
• Coordinated care: Our recovery medicine program has behavioral health specialists at many primary care offices, who work to screen patients for potential substance use disorders, helping to identify people affected by addiction, sooner. We also work closely with perinatal treatment programs at AHN and elsewhere to provide rapid access to services for pregnant women with substance use disorders.
• Specialized support for moms: AHN’s Perinatal Hope Program provides personalized treatment and support for pregnant women, and new moms, who are struggling with a substance use disorder. This program helps moms get clean and keep their babies healthy.
  

How to get help with substance use disorders

At AHN, we have strong relationships with many substance use treatment providers who offer residential and intensive outpatient treatment services. We are also willing to work with anyone who is not yet ready or willing to stop using substances. Our care teams use all available resources at our disposal to help people stay alive and as healthy as possible.

We quickly connect people to the services they need in:

Emergency departments

When someone comes into one of our emergency departments after an overdose, we provide immediate treatment with Suboxone or other treatments. We also work to connect patients with the necessary care and a range of resources to help improve their health now and in the future.

Hospitals

Our multidisciplinary inpatient consult teams include a doctor, nurse, social worker, and certified recovery specialist. These teams engage patients in different ways, during and after a hospital stay.

They help patients:

• Manage pain and withdrawal symptoms
• Develop aftercare plans for when someone leaves the hospital

To keep patients engaged and healthy, our teams can continue to follow them as they move back into the community or into other health care facilities and treatment programs. They will work with patients to help them reach the goals they have in life.

For patients who have skilled nursing needs after hospitalization, we also have programs that can help them with both medical care and substance use treatment. AHN partnered up with Kane McKeesport to open a specialized unit for people with co-occurring medical and substance use disorders.

Outpatient facilities

People can receive treatment at a growing number of outpatient sites in Allegheny County and beyond. We will connect you with resources that fit the level of care you require for an opioid use disorder or other substance use disorders. These resources include:

• Clinics for medication-assisted treatment and/or related therapies
• Medical respite for people who do not have appropriate housing and need ongoing medical care and community-based substance use disorder treatment

Contact us

Request an appointment with one of our specialists. You can also find out more about our recovery medicine services by calling our Center of Excellence at (412) 359-4644.