ED Bridge to Treatment Program and Overdose Needs Assessment Tool strengthen Virginia’s data-driven approach to overdose prevention, treatment and recovery
As Virginia recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is highlighting two of many key efforts supporting the Commonwealth’s response to drug overdose:
- Drug Overdose Needs Assessment Tool
These efforts use healthcare partnerships and data-driven strategies to identify communities with more need. They:
- connect individuals to treatment, and
- strengthen overdose prevention efforts.
While there is still much work to be done, recent VDH data show encouraging progress in reducing fatal drug overdoses in Virginia. Drug overdose deaths decreased 37% in 2024 compared with 2023. Preliminary data for 2025 show a continued decreasing trend.
VDH’s Drug Overdose Needs Assessment Tool uses data to guide prevention resources to communities at higher need for drug overdose prevention.
VDH also supports the Emergency Department (ED) Bridge to Treatment Program. The VDH Office of Family Health Services and Carilion Clinic partnered to launch the program in 2018. The program connects patients in the ED with appropriate follow up care. This includes people who present to the ED with:
- non-fatal overdose,
- acute withdrawal, or
- requests for substance use treatment.
Care may include prescriptions, peer recovery support, case management, and access to treatment providers.
As part of its work to replicate this model statewide, VDH and Carilion continue to share its effective model with hospitals and health systems across Virginia. For more information visit VDH.