ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nine years of sobriety have led Rhonda Viola to the other side of the healthcare system.
She now works to dole out hope and help as a Recovery Peer Specialist with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg—as part of a county-funded pilot program called "Pinellas Matters."
The goal of the program is to address deadly opioid overdoses.
Here's how it works:
If someone is brought in after overdosing on opioids, they're treated.
Once they're stable, they're given information on substance abuse disorder, Narcan, and a visit from one of two specialists, like Viola, who are in recovery themselves. Those specialists are able to speak with patients about sobriety and longer-term treatment options.
"I think it's amazing, I do. It's truly amazing because we identify and connect with that person on a different level," said Viola.
The program launched in July of 2022. And it's one that emergency room doctors, like Dr. Eric Shamas, said hinges on a "mindset shift" in overdose treatment.
"It changes the culture that instead of treating this as a one-time medical event, we're treating it with a clinical pathway the way we would treat any disease," he said, "The response is surprise and even shock. You know, these are patients that have a lot of contact with the healthcare system and usually under very different circumstances. And until recently, those haven't been great interactions, and they have been isolated."
ABC Action News sat down with Pinellas County Commission Kathleen Peters, who told us that people have been receptive to the program so far.
"In the first year, we've had 330 patients at Bayfront [Health]. They've all gotten the education. They've all met with the peer counselor," she said, "Of the 330 that have gone to Bayfront [Health], 74 percent have gone into treatment and so far is sustaining that treatment. So that's, that's exciting."
According to the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office, accidental overdoses have been on the rise for the last decade, with 166 deaths in 2014 and 597 in 2022.
Please note: The 2023 data is only from January-June of 2023.
Commissioner Peters said county leaders are watching these numbers closely, hopeful that this pilot program will make a difference.
"We believe that we're finally, this year, we're hopeful that we're going to see a decline in the death rate since 2014," she said.
And as the county looks to expand the program to other area hospitals, Viola told us she'll still be at Bayfront Health working to help save lives one case at a time.
"I'm living proof that sometimes we think people in our life can't change. They can and it's possible. They just got to want it. And the hope and the help is here," she said.
