MEDINA COUNTY OPIATE RESPONSE TEAM

The Medina County Opiate Response Team is a collaboration between Alternative Paths and the Medina County Sherriff’s Office. The team will ensure a standardized response to meet with an individual who has experienced an overdose to assess his/her needs and engage him/her in appropriate treatment with a chemical dependency treatment provider in Medina County.

The response team will be made up of a chemical dependency clinician, who possesses credentials as a chemical dependency professional in the State of Ohio, and a commissioned officer. The clinician will maintain responsibility for receiving all referrals and initiating communication with the identified client or family member. The clinician will work to schedule meeting times with the client. The team will work to respond to all referrals and set up a face to face meeting with the identified client within 72 hours. In the event a client cannot be contacted by phone, the team will have the discretion to attempt to locate the client in the community to initiate communication and attempt to get the client into needed treatment. Three attempts will be made to contact each person referred.

The meeting with the client may take place in the client’s home, in a local hospital, or in a mutually agreed upon location. The clinician and officer will always use discretion and maintain the final decision in meeting locations to ensure safety. The officer will always be present for meetings which occur in a non-public setting such as a client’s home. During the initial meeting, the clinician will focus on client engagement and education. He/she will complete a screening to determine a client’s treatment needs. In the event a client presents in need of immediate medical attention, the clinician or officer will contact 911.

At the conclusion of the screening, the clinician will discuss treatment alternatives available to the client and provide the client with an appointment for a full chemical dependency assessment with a treatment provider within Medina County. The clinician will work to ensure that there are no obstacles which may prevent the client from attending the assessment appointment such as transportation, medical insurance, etc. If possible, the clinician will meet with a client’s family or support persons to engage them in the client’s plan to seek treatment.

The clinician will work to track the progress of the client for a 30-day period. He/she will track whether the client attends the scheduled assessment as well as subsequent treatment sessions to help to ensure successful engagement in treatment. In the event a client does not follow through, the clinician will attempt to contact the client, reassess the current needs, and re-engage the client in treatment. The clinician will act as a support to the client during the initial phase of treatment engagement. This function is an effort to create a seamless transition to a local provider while providing support for the recovery process

If you wish to make a referral on paper, please use the documents below and forward referral information to using the contact information below.

PAPER REFERRAL DOCUMENTS

CONTACT INFORMATION

Medina County Opiate Response Team
Phone (234) 802-0732
Fax: (330) 764-8126