Attention to each essential element of SBIRT implementation

C4BHI psychologists were a tremendous help to our Central Vermont Medical Center’s adoption of integrated approaches to patient care.  Not only did they commit their complete attention to our Emergency Department team as we adopted SBIRT protocols; but they also attended to each essential element of the implementation including onsite coaching/supervision, training across medical provider groups, evaluation and Continuous Quality Improvement. Their focus on and support for sustainability of the work was critical to my role as project champion and to the hospital’s mission of supporting the patients and families in our community.  In fact, the SBIRT collaboration with C4BHI spearheaded a new approach to caring for our patients.  This integrated approach has now taken off in many of our other hospital and outpatient medical departments.  CVMC, with the help of C4BHI is now much more proactively involved throughout our Central Vermont community in prevention, treatment, and recovery and applying for funding to extend our reach and efforts at building a seamless system of care substance use and co-occurring disorders.