Thursday, Steptember 25, 2025 | 12:00 p.m – 1:30 p.m.
Virtual Program
PACT Coalition: Turning Crisis Into Connection: Hospital Interventions with Peer Recovery Support
Overview
PACT Coalition for Safe and Drug Free Communities is supporting an engaging presentation on the critical role that emergency departments (EDs) and hospital staff play in connecting patients to substance use treatment. This session will spotlight the unique value of embedding Peer Recovery Support Specialists in the ED, and how their lived experience can enhance patient care and outcomes. This presentation will explore best practices for integrating Peers into hospital workflows, strategies for supporting peer employees, and the impact of their presence on both patients and staff. Attendees will learn from individuals who have helped to integrate Peers into Nevada hospital systems and will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in an open discussion. This event is ideal for healthcare professionals, administrators, and anyone interested in improving substance use care pathways through collaborative, peer-informed approaches.
Learning Objectives
Following participation in this course, participants should be able to:
- Describe the role of Peer Recovery Support Specialists in the emergency department and their impact on patient engagement and connection to substance use treatment.
- Identify key strategies for integrating Peer Recovery Support Specialists into existing ED workflows effectively.
- Discuss best practices for supporting Peer Recovery Support Specialists contractors/ employees within hospital settings, including training, supervision, and workplace culture.
- Evaluate opportunities and challenges in implementing peer support services in emergency departments to enhance referrals and continuity of care for patients with substance use disorders.
Who Should Attend
This program is geared towards:
- Healthcare professionals working in emergency departments or hospital settings.
- Hospital administrators and leaders responsible for patient care programs.
- Behavioral health and substance use treatment providers.
- Peer Recovery Support Specialists and supervisors.
- Anyone interested in improving care pathways for patients with substance use disorders through peer-informed, collaborative approaches.
Registration - $35.00
For additional information, multiple registrants, or to pay-by-check, please call (775) 784-4791 or email skgeorge@med.unr.edu.
Program Support
This project was supported in whole or in part by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Bureau of Behavioral Health, Prevention, and Wellness through funding provided by the Nevada State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).
David Hart, M.D.
Sunrise Health GME Emergency Medicine Residency
David Hart, M.D. is an emergency physician with TeamHealth and serves as the Program Director for the HCA Sunrise Health Emergency Medicine Residency, where he oversees the training and education of 30 emergency medicine residents at MountainView Hospital. A Las Vegas resident for the past decade, Dr. Hart lives with his wife and four sons. He earned his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, and completed his residency training at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.
Dr. Hart has developed excitement for initiatives that support patients presenting to the emergency department with opioid-related emergencies. His efforts include successfully adding buprenorphine to the hospital’s pharmacy formulary, developing a training program for emergency providers and other staff on buprenorphine induction from the emergency department, and implementing a naloxone distribution initiative to provide take-home kits for high-risk patients.
Beyond the hospital, Dr. Hart collaborates with fellow physicians and community leaders, including the Southern Nevada Health District, to equip employees of bars in the Arts District and other local businesses with naloxone and provide training on how and when to administer this life-saving intervention.
Spencer Costella, PRSS-S
PACT Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Communities
Spencer Costella has dedicated the past six years to serving the substance use and recovery community through a range of impactful roles. He began his career in 2019 as a peer support specialist, focusing on harm reduction and community outreach. In this role, he provided vital support to individuals at various stages of recovery, distributing harm reduction supplies and offering guidance to those seeking to begin their journey toward wellness.
Spencer later took on a supervisory role in a hospital-based program that integrated peer support specialists into local emergency departments, providing immediate, compassionate assistance to individuals experiencing substance use-related crises. His work then expanded into prevention services, combining peer support with strategic community-based efforts to reduce substance misuse.
Currently, Spencer serves as a Peer Supervisor at the PACT Coalition, where he oversees peer staff and helps manage multiple grant-funded initiatives. His work continues to focus on supporting individuals in recovery while enhancing the effectiveness and reach of harm reduction and prevention programs across the community.
As an accredited provider of continuing medical education through the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine must ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its educational activities. In order to assure that information is presented in a scientific and objective manner, The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine requires that anyone in a position to control or influence the content of an accredited activity disclose all financial relationships within the prior 24 months with any commercial or proprietary entity producing health care goods or services relevant to the content being planned or presented. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. Following are those disclosures.
All presenters, planners or anyone in a position to control the content of this continuing medical education activity have indicated that they do not have financial relationships with ineligible companies related to the content of this activity.
CME Accreditation and Designation
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and PACT Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Communities. The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education to physicians.
The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Continuing Education Credit
The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine approves this program for 2.00 hours of nursing continuing education credit. Nevada State Board of Nursing provider number 120894-1.
This program provides 1.50 CME credit towards the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners' requirement for 2 hours of training related to ethics, pain management, or addiction care during each licensure period.