Columbus, Ohio (43215) – Southeast Healthcare’s RREACT (Rapid Response Emergency Addiction and Crisis Team) treatment program is collaborating with the Columbus Metropolitan Library by incorporating outreach workers and peer support specialists to engage with patrons in response to the opioid and addiction epidemic.
For several hours each week, Southeast RREACT will be in the library with information, resources and connection to treatment options that are available in Franklin County.
The Rapid Response Emergency Addiction and Crisis Team (RREACT) consists of mental health nurses, peer support specialists and outreach coordinators that are placed within the Emergency Medical Services to respond in real time to community need. The program will prioritize opiate overdose response city-wide with secondary efforts directed towards supporting mental health crisis in identified areas of the Columbus. Southeast Healthcare will work with ADAMH and other providers to provide evidence-based approaches for patients experiencing addiction and/or mental health crisis that are protocol-based to ensure standardized approach to assessment, treatment and disposition. The team will meet individuals on-scene to assist them wherever they are in their recovery and provide immediate linkage to resources and treatment. In response to an opiate overdose, the RREACT team will be requested by EMS/Dispatch communication center for on-scene response. The team will provide support to paramedics; assess for lethality if necessary; offer brief crisis intervention; and collect information on current linkage to services and facilitate re-linkage if appropriate. Southeast RREACT works in partnership with the Franklin County Sheriff, Columbus Division of Fire and is funded by the ADAMH Board of Franklin County.