NYC Health + Hospitals Announces New Hotspotting Program to Enhance Addiction Services in the South Bronx
The new Hotspotting program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, built in partnership with Robin Hood and the Staten Island Performing Provider System, will ensure connection to addiction care and services
Apr 15, 2025
New York, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals today announced Hotspotting, a new pilot program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln to support people living with opioid use disorder and reduce overdose deaths, nonfatal overdoses, and use of the emergency department. Hotspotting was developed in partnership with the Staten Island Performing Provider System (SIPPS) and is modeled after its program. Under the Hotspotting model, patients in the Lincoln Hospital emergency department for opioid use or nonfatal overdose will be connected to a dedicated team, including community health workers and peer counselors. For up to a year following the discharge from the hospital, the team will reach out to patients biweekly to offer support and connection to addiction services, medical care, as well as community-based resources, public benefits, and housing as needed. The program will offer patients a cell phone and a service contract to help them stay connected to care.
Overdose deaths in New York City in 2023 decreased slightly after four consecutive years of increases with a 1 percent decrease, and according to provisional data, the first quarter of 2024 had the lowest quarter of overdose deaths on record since 2020. However, there has been over 100% increase in overdose deaths since COVID-19 pandemic, with 1,452 deaths in 2018 and 3,046 deaths in 2023. The Bronx has the highest rate of opioid overdose death in New York City, and patients who experience a nonfatal overdose are at increased risk of having a fatal overdose in the future. NYC Health + Hospitals received $600,000 from Robin Hood to support this patient navigation program, which is expected to serve approximately 150 patients with substance use challenges when they are at the highest risk of relapse. Hotspotting is expected to launch later this year. NYC Health + Hospitals will also join the national Hotspotting Advisory Board that includes SIPPS, Robin Hood, and other leaders and is committed to addressing the overdose epidemic through national coalition building, philanthropy, and innovative care models. Hotspotting can be tailored to individual communities.
“The increasing potency of opioids in New York City requires new and innovative support for our care for patients with opioid use disorder,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “The Hotspotting program will give our patients at Lincoln Hospital up to a year of follow-up care after they leave the hospital for opioid treatment. We are deeply grateful to Robin Hood and the Staten Island Performing Provider System for their support in launching this new model at NYC Health + Hospitals.”
“Treating our patients with opioid use disorder and supporting their recovery are absolutely essential in light of our national opioid epidemic and public health emergency. Our Hotspotting program will provide continuity of care as patients transition from the hospital into the community setting and will help them stay connected to healthcare and addiction services,” said Dr. Daniel Schatz, Medical Director of Substance Use Disorder Services in the Office of Behavioral Health at NYC Health + Hospitals.“Our goals are to support people living with opioid use disorder, reduce overdose deaths and nonfatal overdoses, and reduce use of the emergency department – all while making our patients feel seen and treating them with dignity. We are dedicated to addressing the substance use crisis, better understanding and treating patients living with this disease in the community, providing education, support, and a sense of continuity of care.”
“The Hotspotting program will further strengthen our ability to support patients struggling with staying connected to substance use treatment at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and make it easier for them to access addiction services during their recovery journey,” said Melinda S. Lantz, MD, Chair of Psychiatry, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. “We are deeply grateful to Robin Hood for investing in this innovative approach to providing support and connection to addiction services and more in the South Bronx.”
“The Staten Island PPS is proud to partner with the outstanding and committed professionals at NYC Health + Hospitals to implement the Hotspotting Program,” said Staten Island Performing Provider System (SIPPS) Executive Director Joseph Conte, PhD, CPHQ. “While this epidemic is a national crisis, locally over 4,000 New York city residents died from an overdose in 2024, a rate far higher than national trends. More troubling is the shift in the overdose burden to the black and brown communities where health equity and disparities contribute to these outcomes. There remains a critical need for more innovation and proactive approaches to save lives, that is the essence of the Hotspotting approach. The PPS is grateful for the NYC Health + Hospitals leadership recognizing the superior outcomes achieved by our approach and look forward to this unique collaboration.”
“The opioid epidemic has had a devastating impact on the Bronx, particularly in high poverty neighborhoods,” said Adena Hernandez, MPH, Director of Health and Mental Health at Robin Hood. “This ongoing crisis continues to cut short the lives of too many New Yorkers, destabilizing families, and communities in the process. Robin Hood is proud to support NYC Health + Hospitals’ Hotspotting program in the Bronx, that exemplifies our commitment to addressing the opioid crisis with innovative, evidence-based solutions. By identifying and engaging individuals at the highest risk of overdose, this program will not only save lives but also foster healthier and safer communities.”
Patients with opioid use disorder are most likely to initially engage with NYC Health + Hospitals in the emergency department as opposed to outpatient clinics. This presents a critical opportunity to engage patients, earn their trust, provide treatment, connect them to outpatient services and care, and help ensure they remain connected to services. The Hotspotting program builds on the success of NYC Health + Hospitals’ ED Leads program, which provides patients with substance use disorder with screenings, brief interventions, individual counseling, substance use treatment and referrals before leaving the hospital and is available at 11 hospitals in the health system.
Today’s announcement also builds on Mayor Adams’ announcement in September 2024 related to the second round of Opioid Settlement Funding and the City’s plan for investing $50 million annually in opioid prevention and treatment. The City’s plan includes an additional $22 million for NYC Health + Hospitals to support substance use treatment and provider training across the system. This second round included funding for expanding ED Leads to 24/7 services across all 11 public hospitals, addiction counselor support in birthing units across all 11 public hospitals, launching new Addiction Response Teams, and opening a new health and substance use disorder clinic for pregnant and postpartum women and their families.
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest provider of behavioral health in New York City. The system provides almost 60% of behavioral health services citywide serving 78,000 patients annually across emergency, inpatient and outpatient care. This includes 10 outpatient substance use disorder clinics, four ancillary withdraw programs, and four Opioid Treatment Programs.
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, located in the South Bronx, is a 362-bed, Acute Care Level 1 Trauma Center and sees more than 168,000 emergency room visits and more than 600,000 outpatient visits annually. Clinical centers of excellence include: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care; Breast Imaging; Designated Stroke Center, Diabetes Center and HIV/AIDS Center. Lincoln Hospital was the first Baby-Friendly designated hospital in the Bronx, providing clinical services and consultations for over 1,500 deliveries per year. The hospital emphasizes primary care and specialty medicine, using the latest advances in medical science. Lincoln is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health care system in the nation. For more information visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/lincoln or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LincolnHosp.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
