Our Work

The Bridge Navigator Program supports hospital emergency departments to become primary access points for the treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Every CA Bridge program should have the navigator position incorporated into the Emergency Department (ED) budget or work with a partner organization with stable funding to hire the navigator. Community Health Worker billing and MAT procedure codes are significant strategies to sustain the program in all California hospitals.

We are establishing a culture of evidence-based medicine to treat substance use disorders (SUD) in acute care settings throughout California, establishing six to eight Centers of Excellence at select hospitals to serve as leaders in SUD care.

We offer clinical training and technical assistance for any hospital from any state in the US that is interested in starting a medication for addiction treatment (MAT) program. Our training and technical assistance programs introduce hospital champions to the wide breadth of CA Bridge materials and resources for MAT implementation.

As the mobile medical providers who respond to overdose and other medical emergencies, Emergency Medical Services has a wide reach and critical contact with high-risk individuals and their families. When an ambulance responds to a 911 call for a drug overdose, paramedics administer treatment.

Increasing access to low-barrier medication for addiction treatment and meeting patients where they are can prevent overdose and promote well-being for people who use drugs and their communities.

Structural racism is a public health emergency intersecting squarely with inequitable access to addiction treatment, the overdose epidemic, and the enforcement of racist drug laws and policies. We are committed to centering racial equity within our work to address these inequities.

The Substance Use Navigator (SUN) is an integral part of supporting medication for addiction treatment (MAT) in the acute care setting. CA Bridge provides training and support for SUNs to be effective in helping patients access care and integrating harm reduction practices and culture into hospital MAT programs.

The Youth MAT Pilot will expand access to MAT for youth and normalize treatment for this population via youth-centered outreach and education to providers and communities.