June 2019: ERH was recognized by the NRHRC, under cooperative agreement for the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Federal Office of Rural Policy for demonstrating innovation in behavioral and mental health initiatives. The initiative addressed the hospital’s MAX project. The MAX project, focused on the opiate use epidemic, changes the process of how Emergency Department (ED) providers and staff manage care for patients who present to the ED repeatedly seeking opioid treatment for chronic pain management. The initiative has produced impactful results. There has been an 84% reduction in ED visits by the patients followed, with a 97% reduction in the administration of opioids to these patients.
