Ellen Eaton, M.D. (left) and Sarah Hewitt, DNP (right)The University of Alabama at Birmingham has received a $426,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Public Health to improve hospital-to-community transitions for people with substance use disorders. This award recognizes UAB’s continued commitment to expanding access to high-quality, patient-centered care for Alabamians affected by substance use disorders.
The two-year grant is led by Ellen Eaton, M.D., professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology. The program is inspired by her team’s Clinical Trials Network research, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which identified the critical need for better support during the vulnerable period following hospital discharge.
The initiative will provide evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders while connecting patients to ongoing addiction treatment and recovery services. Beyond addiction care, this support will enable access to comprehensive health services, including HIV and hepatitis C screening and treatment, HIV prevention, and evidence-based reproductive healthcare.
“As an infectious diseases physician, I have seen time and again that hospitalization presents a unique opportunity to engage patients in care,” Eaton said. “This program will help ensure that patients receive the support they need to successfully transition into the community and access the full spectrum of evidence-based addiction medicine and recovery services.”
The multidisciplinary program will be led clinically by Sarah Hewitt, DNP, who will serve as the nurse champion alongside trained peer recovery coaches whose lived experience will help patients navigate treatment, overcome barriers to care and remain engaged after discharge.
The project is funded by the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Pharmacy Division, Bureau of Prevention, Promotion and Support, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Overdose Data to Action in States program.