What We Do

Built on the model of ‘See One, Do One, Teach One,’ these two-part trainings offer didactic learning paired with an on-site observation with faculty preceptors. This format is designed to meet the needs of primary care providers seeking to deepen and broaden their skills under the mentorship of highly experienced local providers. Preceptor Trainings are CME accredited and open to MD/DOs, PAs, and NPs. 

We believe that providers who treat patients with substance use disorder can benefit from talking to each other about best practices, challenges, and questions they have about serving these patients. Building a community of learners helps support professional and personal growth. Monthly sessions allow providers to meet and discuss practice issues related to opioid use disorder. Most sessions feature a guest speaker with a brief presentation followed by open discussion. Session topics are chosen to reflect current events, changes in epidemiology and policy, and provider requests.

Collaboratives are forums for providers to network with each other to discuss a range of practice issues related to a topic and learn from each others’ experiences.

HFP offers these collaboratives:

• MOUD Provider Collaborative
• Wound Care Collaborative
• Perinatal OUD Collaborative
• Peer Models for Health Learning Collaborative - for CHWs/CPSs/CRSs, other peers, and Peer Supervisors (for more information, contact Kiera Kenney, MSW.

In the initial weeks since becoming Medical Director of Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR), it quickly became apparent to Dr. Daniel Teixeira da Silva, MD, MSHP that wounds and Skin and Soft Tissue Infection (SSTI) among people who use drugs (PWUD) would become a priority. ED visits for SSTIs among PWUD have tripled since 2019 and over 1,800 PWUD are hospitalized with SSTIs every year. Street harm reduction outreach teams and mobile medical teams report the number and severity of wounds exceeds the resources they have to treat them. More troubling, many patients report declining or delaying care despite the risk that wounds from injection drug use pose to their safety and well-being. The need was identified to develop standards of care and increase local capacity for the care of wounds and SSTIs among PWUD.

SUPHR and the Health Federation of Philadelphia's SURGE Program established a Wound and Skin and Soft Tissue Morbidity and Mortality Review Workgroup. The group met every other month starting in January 2023 to review cases and information, and they are currently working towards releasing a document of wound care recommendations.

SURGE develops new trainings in response to the changing issues faced by health professionals serving people who use substances. 

Treating patients who have substance use disorder can be challenging and complicated. Drawing from the Community Resilience Model©, HFP offers programs to help providers develop resilience in order to promote wellness and protect themselves from secondary traumatic stress. These programs teach providers about how traumatic stress affects them, and gives them tools for restoring balance to their mind and body after experiencing stress and trauma.

Peers are exceptional messengers of health information and support for patients who have substance use disorder (SUD). Recognizing this, medical settings such as the emergency department, inpatient units, and primary care sites are increasingly hiring Certified Recovery Specialists (CRSs) to help patients who have SUD navigate care and connect with recovery resources. While this is an emerging field for CRSs, there is a need for continued education for CRSs to support their work with patients in these specialized environments.

In Collaboration with Penn’s Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy, the Health Federation is offering trainings for peers to help increase knowledge and skill in working in medical settings.