Em Pulse

As Emergency Physicians, we are well equipped to deal with patients’ acute medical needs, but we often find ourselves without the knowledge or time to deal with many of our patients’ other needs. For social, financial, mental health, and substance use disorders, we lean heavily on other members of our ED team. In this episode, we explore one of the newer roles in this team, the ED Substance Abuse Navigator (SUN). A former patient shares her story of what’s it’s like to be in the ED seeking help with substance use, and Dr. Aimee Moulin talks about her efforts in collaboration with CA Bridge to expand the role of SUNs throughout California. Finally, we talk with two of our UC Davis SUNs, Sandra Overby and Jolie Reyna, who take us through what it’s like to be an ED SUN and how they have been able to help connect many patients with much needed treatment resources.  Do you have a SUN in your ED?  Share your experience with us on social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our website, ucdavisem.com. ***Please rate