Every six hours, a person dies from a drug overdose in New York City, with more deaths in the Bronx than any other borough. COVID-19 has made the overdose epidemic even more dangerous because many people feel isolated and uncomfortable going to hospitals to get care.

To ensure people get the substance use disorder treatment they need, Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine have been awarded a $4 million grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to train physicians in addiction medicine and strengthen relationships with community partners. The Montefiore-Einstein Addiction Medicine Fellowship, started in 2019, continues to expand our commitment to advancing substance use disorder treatment in the Bronx community.

“We are proud of our long-established programs, but now more than ever, we need to increase the number of physicians equipped to treat those with substance use disorders and our presence in community-based settings,” said Shadi Nahvi, M.D., M.S., director, Addiction Medicine Fellowship program at Montefiore and Einstein, and associate professor of medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein.   

The five-year HHS grant will fund an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-addiction medicine fellowship program to train new doctors on a team approach which includes nurses, counselors, social workers, nursing homes, pharmacists and community-based organizations so treatment can start as early as possible, regardless of where people are seeking help.

Training will occur at clinical settings like the Montefiore Einstein Division of Substance Abuse and the Montefiore Buprenorphine Treatment Network, which for decades been a leader in using medication to support treatment of opioid and alcohol abuse disorders and providing primary care.

The fellows will then complete their training at organizations like New York Harm Reduction Educators, which provides safe syringes and engages people who use drugs. Additionally, the fellows will partner with community groups, including BronxWorks, the Harm Reduction Coalition, the Osborne Association, the Drug Policy Alliance, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to improve care. 

By having clinicians in community locations that provide critical services like food and shelter, Montefiore doctors can prescribe buprenorphine to prevent withdrawal and block the pleasurable effects of using opioids and be primary care doctors when needed, treating conditions such as HIV and Hepatitis C.

“Our hope is that by partnering closely with our community, our addiction medicine fellows can become change agents - and rethink how to deliver the best care possible during this pandemic and well into the future,” said Dr. Nahvi. 

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About Montefiore Health System

Montefiore Health System is one of New York’s premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 11 hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2019-20 academic year, Einstein is home to 724 M.D. students, 158 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 265 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,800 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2019, Einstein received more than $178 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit www.einsteinmed.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube.