Governor Charlie Baker was at Beverly Hospital last Thursday as part of his tour to drum up support for his second major opioid bill, which MHA supports and which will be heard before the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use & Recovery on Tuesday.
Baker tweeted a photo showing him with EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders and Howard Grant, J.D., M.D., the president & CEO of Beverly’s parent company Lahey Health.
The governor tweeted: “Today, we visited @beverlyhospital with @NrthShoreHealth to highlight their successful program that is helping people every day to not only get on the road to recovery- but to stay there by providing support from recovery coaches during their journey.
“Hospital emergency rooms are often the first line of defense for people seeking help for their substance misuse. That’s why emergency department recovery coaches are so important—they meet patients where they are and provide an immediate link to treatment.”
Baker highlighted provisions in his opioid bill that would seek to institute certification criteria for recovery coaches, tweeting, “By establishing credentialing standards for recovery coaches, we’re telling insurance companies that their services are necessary and a vital tool for keeping people in treatment and focused on their long-term recovery.”