News Releases

The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium Hosts Kick-Off Meeting

On Wednesday, Nov. 15, the Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium held its first joint meeting at The Center for Health Affairs. Representatives from The Center, Cleveland Clinic, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, MetroHealth, St. Vincent’s Charity Medical Center and University Hospitals were on-site to discuss collaborative efforts to address the ongoing Northeast Ohio opioid epidemic. As part of the conversation, the group deliberated the action plan that will guide the Opioid Consortium activity and discussed how to measure short-term and long-term success.

Additional topics covered during the meeting included:

• Establishing the opioid consortium’s mission and vision
• Identifying future funding opportunities
• Engagement around policy and advocacy
• Measuring metrics of success

As increased access to Medication-Assisted Treatment is one of the primary goals of the Opioid Consortium, it is critical those seeking treatment have easy access to providers. Tim Elliott and Barbara Callahan from The Dalton Foundation shared an existing community resource that may be considered by the Opioid Consortium members. The service, Relink.org, offers a user-friendly, searchable, real-time service portal that links those seeking treatment to services providers based on geolocation and type of service required.

“A consortium of this nature, that specifically addresses the hospitals' response to the opioid crisis, is the first of its kind,” said Allisyn Leppla, executive director, Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium. “We have some of the nation’s leading healthcare systems collaborating to implement large-scale changes that will provide more comprehensive services for those suffering from addiction and ultimately prevent a future population from becoming addicted. I am hopeful that our work will be used as a model to highlight successes that can be replicated in other healthcare systems throughout the state and across the country.” 

Moving forward, the Opioid Consortium plans to convene in-person on a quarterly basis. The next meeting will be held in early February. For additional questions, contact us.