#73 How Carteret County, NC cut overdose deaths by 80% and overdose-related ER visits by 50%

Carteret County is a coastal North Carolina community of approximately 70,000 residents which swells to 200,000 during the summer beach season. Carteret had a big overdose problem, ranked in the worst quintile in North Carolina.

That’s where Consolidated Health and Human Services Director Randall Williams, MD, FACOG and Post Overdose Response Team Manager Brooke B. Lane, MPH, CHES came in. In only two years, they reduced overdoses by 90%, overdose deaths by 80%, and overdose-related ER visits by 50%. Their PORT team, made up of peer support specialists, help affected individuals find a recovery path.

In this episode of the Business of Healthcare, we explore how these two leaders helped dramatically reduce the overdose crisis in their county, saving lives and money. We look at Goldie, a tech platform used by Carteret County’s PORT Team. Goldie is an overdose detection and workflow management platform. We also learn how Carteret supports recovery by referring to Project VBOT, a virtual medication-assisted treatment medical practice.