Harm Reduction

You’ll see firsthand how community-based programs and ancillary treatment sources help your patients during this customizable rotation.

Harm reduction has become the mainstay approach to helping patients struggling with substance use. It shifts the focus from individual care to addressing substance use on a larger population health level.

On this rotation, you will see how Evergreen Health Services meets people where they are.

Teach people how to inject safely while learning about what they view as their most pressing needs such as housing and food security.

Examples of rotation experiences include supervising a syringe exchange program, mapping out veins in extremities to teach safer injection principles, and learning the value of low-threshold buprenorphine clinics to prevent overdose deaths.

Beyond acute and post-stabilization treatment, this rotation helps you appreciate the far-reaching consequences of addiction at the community level.