Health care facilities are barred from hiring employees who have been convicted of certain criminal offenses, including felony convictions within the last five years related to “controlled substances.” Lawmakers want to introduce an exception for peer recovery coaches.
A House committee approved House Bill 1385. It applies specifically to peer recovery coaches certified through the Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
Peer support professionals, or peer recovery coaches, assist people in the recovery process for substance use disorder and use their own lived experience with the disorder or serious mental health issues to aid in that process.
Curt Langhammer with Mental Health America of Indiana, said it’s important that every hospital, mental health clinic and emergency room has a peer support professional on hand to offer that unique type of support.
“Just think about this situation, how meaningful it is and how powerful it is to have somebody who's actually in recovery sitting on the edge of the bed with somebody who's currently going through detox or having a mental health crisis,” Langhammer said.
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Grant Achenbach represents Indiana Health Care Association — an association of residential care and nursing homes in Indiana. He said the bill would help address a barrier when it comes to workforce development.
“The nursing homes and assisted living facilities are certainly struggling right now to find workforce, to bring in and care for their patients,” Achenbach said. “I think this is certainly an important step in that workforce discussion.”
The bill’s author, Rep. Garrett Bascom (R-Lawrenceburg) said the Indiana Department of Health wants to include safeguards for if a peer support professional receives an additional felony charge related to controlled substances.
The bill now heads to the House floor for consideration.
Abigail is our health reporter. Contact them at aruhman@wboi.org.