The Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team (ARMOT) is an intervention in rural Pennsylvania that aims to reduce opiate overdoses by providing case management and recovery services to hospital patients who show signs of substance use disorders. The ‘mobile’ in ARMOT means case managers meet patients bedside to screen and assess them for substance use disorders and link them to treatment programs. The patients also meet with certified peer recovery specialists who help them connect with other community resources while also providing valuable emotional support. One recovery mentor said this about his experience with ARMOT, “Having survived several [overdoses] in my addiction, that is a key demographic [the population that ARMOT serves] that I want to be able to reach out to and try to and try to help them start their recovery process.” ARMOT also educates hospitals, health care providers, and the community on substance abuse disorders and works to reduce the stigma of addiction.
Of the 943 referrals the program received, 622 were screened, 436 completed a Level of Care Assessment, and 331 went to treatment. Implementing a mobile unit presents some barriers as transportation can be a challenge as well as the hours the ARMOT staff are available. For example, the goal of ARMOT was to have the patient see a case manager or peer recovery mentor before they are discharged. However, if a patient entered the hospital at night, they may not want to wait until the next morning to speak with an ARMOT staff member. The solution was to change hours so that staff was available in the evenings, at night, and over weekends.
Check out this video on ARMOT! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78p267G79ic
Rural Health Information Hub. (2018, December 5). Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team (ARMOT). Retrieved from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/project-examples/940