ProMedica Toledo Hospital Receives $1.5 M Grant from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

ProMedica Toledo Hospital announced today that over the course of three years, it will receive a $1.5 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) to assist in the implementation of ProMedica’s Prescribing Alternatives Instead of Narcotics (PAIN) project throughout Lucas County.

The PAIN project will work to offer alternatives to opioids to those who present with common pain conditions at ProMedica Toledo Hospital and ProMedica Flower Hospital Emergency Departments. The targeted pain conditions that will be a point of focus at both facilities include:

• Headache/migraine.
• Extremity fracture/sprain.
• Low back pain.
• Dental pain.
• Renal colic (pain associated with kidney stone).

To supplement the non-opioid medication alternatives, non-pharmacological pain reduction interventions will be used as enhanced pain-alleviating strategies. The grant from SAMHSA will allow the emergency departments to increase their use of non-pharmacological alternatives by 20 percent or more. These interventions include physical therapy, acupuncture, and cognitive behavioral therapy among others.

The PAIN project’s goal is to decrease the number of opioids prescribed to patients presenting with acute pain-related conditions at ProMedica Toledo Hosptial and ProMedica Flower Hospital Emergency Departments by 45 percent, or more, over the next three years.

“We look forward to having the opportunity to further provide the best quality of care to our patients,” said Brian Kaminski, DO, ProMedica vice president of quality and safety. “With the increased need to address the number of opioids prescribed to patients, this grant should allow us to provide these specific services to approximately 8,000 individuals over the next three years.”

By August 31, 2023, the PAIN project will offer medication-assisted treatment and subsequent referral for ongoing treatment to 90 percent of patients who present to ProMedica Toledo Hospital and ProMedica Flower Hospital Emergency Departments with a substance use disorder.

This project will enhance existing efforts at ProMedica Toledo Hospital and ProMedica Flower Hospital Emergency Departments to address the growing number of opioid overdoses treated at each facility and reduce the number of patients with opiate use disorder.