Sioux Falls, SD — Emily’s Hope is honored to announce our recent award of a contract with the State of South Dakota for the Post-Overdose Response Program. This pivotal development underscores our commitment to mitigating the opioid crisis in Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties. Alongside us in this effort, Project Recovery of Rapid City has also been awarded as a fellow program partner.
In response to the escalating opioid epidemic, Emily’s Hope has hired program director Taryn Sietsema and is collaborating with many organizations, including Straight Up Care, Avera and Sanford Health Systems, The Link, Minnehaha and Lincoln County Sheriffs’ Offices, The Sioux Falls Police Department, Minnehaha County Health and Human Services, the Center for Family Medicine, Urban Indian Health, and PatientCare EMS. This collective initiative is a testament to our community’s dedication to providing holistic, evidence-based care and support to those who survive an overdose.
Our enhanced program, influenced by successful models in other regions, integrates cutting-edge treatment strategies such as the use of buprenorphine following opioid overdose incidents. This approach is part of our broader plan to educate emergency room physicians on effective overdose response and to collaborate with EMS personnel to raise awareness among overdose victims of the program.
The initiatives by Emily’s Hope, including providing treatment scholarships, establishing educational curricula, supporting grieving families, and the impactful Grieving Out Loud podcast, have laid a strong foundation for this expansion. Our new venture builds upon these efforts, emphasizing immediate response and sustainable recovery solutions.
Our partners each contribute unique expertise and resources vital for the program’s success. We will provide individuals with Naloxone kits, fentanyl testing strips, and guidance on additional treatment options. The program ensures continuity of care with follow-up visits by healthcare professionals or peer support specialists and facilitates access to necessary harm reduction, detox, and treatment services.
Leveraging the Straight Up Care telehealth app, we will offer accessible, continuous support. This collaborative effort aims to foster a community environment where recovery is supported, relapse is prevented, and lives are positively transformed. Emily’s Hope is confident that this comprehensive approach, bolstered by our state contract, will result in significant, enduring changes for individuals affected by addiction. We look forward to the potential of expanding our overdose response program to more communities and deepening our impact.
To schedule an interview with Angela Kennecke or Taryn Sietsema or for more information about Emily’s Hope and our Post-Overdose Response Program, please contact Anna Fey at annafey@emilyshope.charity or 605-940-3504.