WTHI: Next Step Terre Haute – Recovery with the touch of a button

Our country is facing a mental health crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the reasons we’re experiencing it. One local organization says it’s been especially hard on those individuals who struggle with addiction disorders. That’s why Next Step is striving to make addiction recovery and intervention resources more accessible.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – Next Step in Terre Haute is at the forefront of changing recovery efforts as we know it – organizations are now able to help their patients struggling with addiction disorders with one click of a button.

This was made possible through CHESS Health, an evidence-based technology that addresses the crisis of substance use disorder from intervention to recovery.

News 10 spoke to Michael Rentfro, he’s the project lead for E-Intervention at Next Step in Terre Haute, watch the video here.

Rentfro says Next Step has implemented two different systems from CHESS Health:

“One of them is eRecovery. It’s kind of like Facebook for people in recovery. And the other one is the one I’m in charge of which is eIntervention, which is a universal referral platform.”

With the help of eIntervention, one provider can send a referral on the patient’s behalf to another provider, and while it’s being processed they can track it and monitor it in real-time.

Once the referral is accepted it notifies the provider, not once is there a phone call or fax being made. Rentfro says it’s so simple to navigate and serves multiple purposes.

“It also has a very well-built provider finder in it, so if you don’t know somebody who provides that service then it will actually help you find it.”

Mental health organizations can set up a custom dashboard through the program – tailored to their needs and patients.

“We customize their dashboard so we make the system do exactly what that organization wants it to do.”

Those organizations are trained on the software, then they’re ready to get started.

Rentfro hopes it helps those patients in the Wabash Valley who have struggled to deal with addiction.

“It works very quickly. I’m rather passionate about it because I think we’ve needed this for a long time, and just the fact that people aren’t falling through the cracks anymore.”

Some organizations that utilize these services are the Hamilton Center and the Vigo County School Corporation.

The eIntervention is completely free, thanks to a grant from the United Way.