Project Assert at St. Anne's Hospital held an open house on September 29, 2008, to launch a new quick reference guide for substance abuse services in the Greater Fall River Area. Project Assert is a emergency department service to facilitate access of patients to primary care, clinical preventive services, and when needed, to the drug and alcohol treatment network. The role of Project Assert staff is to detect substance abuse and other preventable conditions, intervene, and refer patients to treatment. They start by conducting a fifteen-minute questionnaire-based interview with all non-critical patients presenting for medical treatment in the emergency department. This survey of patients' health and safety needs provides the basis for detection of substance abuse and other health needs. Through a brief negotiation interview (BNI) technique, staff establish rapport, raise the subject of drugs and alcohol, and assess patients readiness to change. For further information about Project Assert at St. Anne's Hospital, contact Dan Mahoney at 508-674-5600, Ext.5514.

(Top row, left) Tom Hannigan, outreach counselor for Caritas NORCAP Lodge, talks with Ed Talbot, community services representative from AdCare Hospital of Worcester. Jennifer Peschel of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at the Miriam Hospital sits behind the display table. (Top row, right) Susan Pacheco from Project New Beginnings at People, Inc. looks over the materials as Karen Fischer of the B.O.L.D. Coalition speaks with Mary Cochrane, Social Work Services director for St. Anne's Hospital. (Middle row, left) Project Assert director Dan Mahoney chats with Anne Ferreira of the Hospital's Public Relations department and Karen Fischer. (Middle row, center) Erin Re and Laura Gove, Health Promotion Advocates from South Shore Hospital talk with Susan St. Amour and Betty Amarla of NORCAP. (Bottom row, left) Dan Mahoney, Karen Fischer, Susan Pacheco, Jennifer Peschel and Ed Talbot pose for a photo. (Bottom row, right) Erin Re, Laura Gove and Dan Mahoney pose in front of a poster for National Recovery Month.