LI Community Hospital Receives $2.5 Million in Federal Funds to Combat Opioid and Prescription Drug Epidemic. The five-year grant aims to reduce drug overdose deaths by supporting services that identify and assist patients affected by substance use disorder.
Long Island Community Hospital has secured $2.5 million over five years through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to combat the rise in overdoses here in Suffolk County.
These funds will allow for the expansion of evidence-based screenings in the hospital’s Emergency Department and medical floors to identify patients who have a substance use disorder. Once identified, these patients can then receive medication-assisted treatment in conjunction with supportive outpatient services. These services include individual, group, or family counseling, peer support and community connections, all offered through the LI Community Hospital Outpatient Chemical Dependency Program in Shirley.
“These funds will give us the tools we need to expand and enhance opioid-related services and they couldn’t come at a more appropriate time, as the nationwide increase in drug overdose deaths over the past 18 months is certainly hitting home in our communities,” said Richard T. Margulis, President and Chief Executive Officer at Long Island Community Hospital. “This is an opportunity that enables us to identify patients in need of help, provide treatment, and facilitate a direct connection to follow-up care with an outpatient program, including the one we operate in Shirley.”
The program is grant-funded for the next five years, allowing LI Community Hospital to integrate medication-assisted treatment into workflows, making it a standard component of clinical care for patients.
To learn more about the Long Island Community Hospital Chemical Dependency Program, please visit www.licommunityhospital.org or call 631.654.7100.
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About Long Island Community Hospital
Long Island Community Hospital (LI Community Hospital) has served this richly diverse region as a patient-first community hospital for almost 65 years. LI Community Hospital is 100% focused on the community and committed to providing quality care with greatly enhanced services reflected through the Knapp Cardiac Care Center – a highly advanced heart disease diagnosis and treatment facility, a new modern surgical pavilion, a level III trauma center, and high-touch services including women’s imaging, sleep laboratory, wound care and more. These services are delivered with the highest level of compassion by LI Community Hospital staff – Long Islanders with an unmistakable mix of courage and heart who care about the people right here in the community and whose sole purpose is to provide personalized comfort.
