By Dwight Mussleman, Chief Development Officer
When BHG considers adding de novos that it can support and grow, we’re looking for opportunities to meet the needs of patients where there is no option. We invest in markets where we already have treatment centers and fill in the “white space” between them to help shorten the distance patients drive and keep caseloads manageable to provide quality care. At the end of the day, decisions are based on where there is the most pressing need by people needing access to quality OUD treatment, providing a welcoming experience for our patients, and building out a space that helps our teams optimally function and feel good about their workplace. I’m proud to share great examples of what I’m talking about in two of our newer centers in Madison and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Nashville is one of our larger markets where we needed more treatment centers. The Madison treatment center resides in an office building about 15 miles north of our current Nashville facility, and Murfreesboro is in a retail center about 35 miles south. Both centers are now licensed to operate as OTPs and OBOTs to provide a methadone option.
Breaking down barriers to care, building support for our teams
Program Director Josh Wright explained that this helps expand our market and break down barriers for people who can’t make that commute consistently. This also helps the Nashville team because there’s a lot of pressure on them due to growth and taking Medicaid.
“We’re running out of office space in Nashville. Opening these two centers helps increase access but it’s also a major proof point that BHG invests in helping our teams have sustainable workloads and growth opportunities. We are actively promoting inside the Nashville center, where there are about 1,000 patients, to go to Madison and Murfreesboro. When our third-party payor contracts are approved, tentatively set for this fall, that will help move some patients.”
“Everything at Madison and Murfreesboro is great, fresh, and new. We utilized the BHG color palette and designed the space for good patient flow and employee work experience,” said Josh. “Frankly, prior to these two centers, the closest OTP to Nashville was in Savannah, GA. We chose Murfreesboro because it’s south and Madison because it’s north. We did a patient zip code analysis and looked at which patients would be able to benefit by us relocating. We chose those markets because we had the most overlaps in our zip codes. It’s great for patient convenience and it helps take some pressure off the Nashville team.”
“With the Madison location, it’s also been an opportunity to promote from within and relocate staff. Loren Lyons was our Office Manager in Nashville and was recently promoted to Program Director for Madison.”
Madison was licensed as an OTP in February, opened that same month on the 14th and had their first patient the next day. They’re now up to 17 patients. Murfreesboro received their OTP license in early March, opened on the 14th and currently has two patients.
What Tennessee data tells us
As opioid addiction continues to ravage communities across the U.S., and in Tennessee, recent data tells us:
- An estimated 50,000 Tennesseans aged 12 or older reported past year opioid use disorder, and 189,000 reported past year opioid misuse. *
- 119,000 Tennesseans aged 18 or older reported needing but not receiving treatment for illicit drug use in the past year. **
- In 2019, 1,543 opioid overdose deaths compared to 1,307 in 2018. ***
* KFF analysis of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s restricted online data analysis system (RDAS), National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2018 and 2019, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive.
** Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2018 and 2019
*** KFF analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html on February 26, 2021
