Meritus peer recovery coaches help those struggling with addiction

When Curtis Meyer encounters a patient battling addiction, his goal as a community peer recovery coach is to make a connection.

Whether he’s in the Meritus Medical Center Emergency Department, at the Meritus Crisis Center, or somewhere else in the hospital, he tries to establish a relationship with that person to give them the chance to recover.

“Our goal is to meet people where they’re at,” said Meyer, who has worked at Meritus since 2018. “If they’re not ready, if they don’t believe in themselves, that’s OK.”

He knows firsthand about being ready to escape addiction. The 65-year-old is in active recovery himself. It’s a requirement that peer counselors be at least two years in recovery, so those seeking recovery can relate to someone like themselves.

“For me, it took a long time to be ready,” Meyer said. “For 40 years, I was in slavery to drugs and alcohol, and the mental health issues and all the damage that causes to your family and relationships.”

He is now helping others escape from that slavery through services offered at Meritus.

For example, the Meritus Crisis Center is a six-bed inpatient facility that supports the needs of those struggling with addiction.

The program, at the Robinwood Professional Center orange entrance off Robinwood Drive, is for patients 18 and older who might have experienced an overdose and/or are willing to consider long-term treatment for addiction.

The average stay is two days while a plan is made to link the patient directly to residential or intensive outpatient treatment, such as the InStep program at Brook Lane Health Service’s North Village.

Many who end up in the Crisis Center come on a referral from the Meritus Emergency Department. If their withdrawal symptoms aren’t too bad, they can come directly, Meyer said. But others are admitted to the hospital to begin treatment for withdrawal before they can come to the center.

Another service is Meritus Mental Health Urgent Care. It offers walk-in access to mental healthcare providers for anyone 6 years old and older. That can mean a counselor for talk therapy or a psychiatrist who can prescribe medication. An appointment isn’t needed.

Related to this, Meritus will be starting an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on Sept. 3 in Robinwood Suite 122. Meetings will be Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

While these programs can offer that chance to escape addiction, Meyer reiterated the responsibility of the person to want to combat their disease.

“It is a disease, but ultimately it is our responsibility to treat it,” he said of those struggling with substance use disorder. “And I get that now more than ever.”

To learn more about the Meritus Crisis Center, visit www.meritushealth.com/crisiscenter. To learn more about the Meritus Mental Health Urgent Care, visit www.meritushealth.com/mentalhealth or call 301-393-HELP (4357).