Local recovery center reports expanded hospital outreach, dozens of referrals and follow-ups in first 10 months at Piedmont

Hank Arnold, director of a local addiction recovery support center, updated the Newnan City Council on Oct. 14 about the center’s hospital outreach and peer-recovery work at Piedmont Newnan Hospital.

Arnold said the organization began operating a recovery-support center in 2018 and launched a hospital-based peer recovery service at Piedmont Newnan in 2023 after negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the hospital system. He said the MOU process with Piedmont Healthcare Inc. took about a year and required increased insurance and HIPAA compliance steps for the program.

Arnold provided metrics for the past roughly 10 months of hospital-based work: 95 initial encounters with patients immediately or after hospital admission, 939 follow-up contacts after discharge, 872 peers served directly and 67 family members served. He said staff made 88 referrals to treatment and recovery programs and that 78% of those referred remained connected with the program after returning to the community. Arnold also reported 121 recovery-coaching sessions completed in the office after discharge.

Arnold credited partnerships with the hospital and with municipalities that elected to direct opioid-abatement funds toward recovery services. He told the council the program runs 8 a.m.–5 p.m., seven days a week, and that three full‑time staff are dedicated to the hospital project.

Council members thanked Arnold for the update; no formal council action was requested at the meeting.