Rutgers RWJ Medical School Launches Nicholson-Funded NAS/SEI Project ECHO Clinic
9.20.2019
News
With support from The Nicholson Foundation, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Cooper University Health Care are launching a Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)/Substance-Exposed Infant (SEI) Project ECHO clinic. Project ECHO uses telecommunications technology and case-based learning to foster mentoring partnerships between specialists (the “hub”) and primary care providers (the “spokes”). The NAS/SEI clinic will feature a multi-disciplinary panel of experts, including an Addiction Medicine Specialist Family Physician, a Pediatrician, a Mother-Baby Nurse, a Neonatologist, a Social Worker, and a Behavioral Health Specialist. The clinic is set to run every other week for six months starting in September 2019.
The program’s objectives are to build capacity and competency among medical staff, community service professionals, and other health care providers throughout New Jersey who are dedicated to supporting recovery, family formation, and child development among their patients.
The frequency of NAS has increased fivefold between 2000 and 2012, mostly driven by the current epidemic of opioid addiction, and now reaches about 6 per 1,000 births, or about 21,731 in 2012, according to the CMS. Medicaid is the predominant payer of treatment services for NAS, covering more than 80% of infants treated for the disease.
Interdisciplinary teams at hospitals that include neonatologists, obstetricians, labor and delivery nurses, and others seeking to better address NAS/SEI in their practices are encouraged to apply to join this Project ECHO program. Participants will receive CME credits. Click below for registration details.