The Linkages to Care (LinC) Program was established in June 2024 by RIZE Massachusetts, a nonprofit foundation working to end the opioid epidemic in MA. The program funds 8 grantee organizations across MA for over 2 years, with the goal of supporting individuals at risk of overdose by strengthening collaboration between hospitals, community based organizations (CBOs), and others. The Institute for Community Health (ICH), a nonprofit research and evaluation organization, is working with RIZE to support the evaluation of the LinC program, with the goal of providing lessons learned about building successful linkages between hospitals and CBOs. The evaluation utilizes a participatory, mixed methods approach, including the collaborative creation of process maps of hospital linkages workflows, identifying evaluation metrics, developing reporting templates, and providing technical assistance as needed to support sites to collect data and document their work. Data is available for the first out of four reporting periods of this project, representing baseline data (July – Dec 2024). Data includes a care cascade tracking how patients move from one place of care to the next and metrics capturing distribution of harm reduction supplies, referrals to support services, and street outreach. Upcoming data will be used to track grantee progress over time, with the goal of learning about how to build successful linkages and trust between hospitals and CBOs.
Cecilia Jarquin Tapia, Emily Hahn, Carolyn Fisher (Apr 2025). “Evaluation of the RIZE Linkages to Care (LinC) Program: Supporting Individuals at Risk of Overdose by Strengthening Collaboration Between Hospitals and Community Based Organizations in MA”. Presented at the 2025 CHA Academic Poster Session (poster). Boston, MA.