By Amanda A. Livingston, Director of Communications and Events
Opioid misuse is not primarily an urban issue but also is prevalent in rural areas. The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC), Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), and the CWC Alliance formed a partnership to combat the opioid epidemic affecting Georgia’s rural communities through the rural Life Care Specialist (LCS) program.
Following the installment of the first-ever LCS in a rural hospital — Mandy Kuntz [link to article] at Mountain Lakes Medical Center in Rabun County — the program expanded to Stephens County Hospital in Toccoa and Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas in late 2024. SGMC Health will add LCS positions in 2025.
A Passion for Helping Others in Rural Health Care
“I heard about it at the nail salon,” said Alyssa Womack. In a serendipitous moment, the Stephens County Hospital’s HR director overheard Womack’s conversation with a nail tech about her background and how she planned to use her psychology degree. Her career took a turn when the HR director told Womack about the LCS position.
“At the time I was working at a pet store trying to figure out my next step,” said Womack. “She said, ‘Actually, we have a position that we are posting next week. It sounds like what you’re looking for and you should apply.’”
Womack landed the job and knew she found what she was meant to do. “I did some more research into CWC and learned more about this program, and just the more I read about it, the more I fell in love with it.”
Cammie Wolf Rice’s son Christopher Wolf suffered from decades-long chronic pain and succumbed to opioid dependency. Rice, the founder of CWC, has made it her mission to combat opioid misuse through prevention and one way to achieve that mission is through the LCS program.
“The numbers don’t lie: opioid-related deaths are 31% higher in rural areas, and that gap won’t shrink unless we provide these communities with hands-on solutions that work,” said Rice. “For me, this mission is deeply personal – losing my son to opioid dependency showed me just how critical early intervention and compassionate support are. The Life Care Specialist program is about making sure patients, like Christopher, in rural communities don’t fall through the cracks, and that they have someone in their corner, advocating for them and connecting them to the resources they need.”
A Life Care Specialist is an integral part of the patient care team in the hospital setting. They provide crucial education on using opioids responsibly as well as side effects and risks of use. Additionally, they are skilled in pain management techniques and mental health coping strategies. Patients who are dealing with pain can benefit from the interactions they have with an LCS.
Womack did not have previous professional experience in addiction recovery, and her exposure to opioid misuse had been limited to personal connections with family and friends. She is still passionate about helping people and recognizes that an important part of the process is building a rapport with patients.
“You cannot walk in and see them as a case. These are people,” she said. “This is real life, real struggles, and it’s just about going in and getting to know them, because I can look in their chart and think that I know what they’re going through, but you never know until you hear from them.”
In addition to providing support for patients in the hospital, Life Care Specialists help connect individuals with community resources. For Womack, it is important to form relationships with those resources. “While I am someone that is, kind of, a lifeline for these patients, they need more than just me once they leave the hospital,” she said. She aims to establish connections with various resources, enabling her to guide individuals toward support systems upon their release, ultimately working to improve the community.
In Douglas, Ga., Nikkiya Paulk and Brandi Merritt come from different professional backgrounds but share a common goal to serve as advocates and educators for patients navigating medical and emotional challenges.
Paulk, who has a background in substance abuse case management, was drawn to the position because she saw a gap in patient education. “Most of my clients didn’t know what opioids were before they became addicted. Nobody has ever educated them on what opioids were, so I was like, ‘I can be that person for the community,’” she said. Paulk has an associate degree in health and human services and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s in social work.
Merritt, on the other hand, has a personal connection to patient advocacy. Diagnosed with an aggressive ameloblastoma at age 12, she underwent multiple surgeries and procedures throughout her life. Her experiences as a young patient exposed her to Child Life Specialists, which inspired her to earn a degree in human development and family studies with a minor in child life. In her late twenties, she was in a major car accident caused by someone under the influence of opioids.
“I always wanted to see [this type of] role come to Coffee County because I knew it was needed here at home,” Merritt shared. “I always wanted to be a trauma surgeon and knew I wanted to do something in medicine but couldn’t stand for long periods of time.” The LCS position allows her to fulfill her dream of making a difference in health care.
Paulk and Merritt not only work with individuals who are in pain but also with patients who need a listening ear. They provide encouragement and a support system. “We can see anybody within the whole hospital,” Merritt emphasized. “We can see anyone that may need mental wellness skills. We can help coach them with that. I had a patient who just needed someone to talk to.”
Both Paulk and Merritt see tremendous potential for the Life Care Specialist program at Coffee Regional. They hope to expand their reach, ensuring that every patient receives support tailored to their needs.
“My vision for this role is pretty much to just educate as many people as possible about opioids and what they can do, how to prevent it. You know, be a voice for people who don’t have a voice for themselves,” said Paulk.
Merritt said, “I would love to see that every patient here gets a Life Care Specialist while they’re here in this hospital. I just want to see it keep expanding, because the Life Care Specialists really make a difference.”
Becoming a Life Care Specialist
Womack, Paulk and Merritt underwent comprehensive training to become rural Life Care Specialists. They each completed the six-week online accredited LCS certification through Mercer University School of Medicine. Modules cover topics such as opioid education, the physiology of pain, pain management, mental health and trauma, and overdose signs. The academic course is followed by additional in-depth and hands-on training sessions, interviewing techniques and practicum, role-playing scenarios, and shadowing Life Care Specialists at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.
“I know firsthand how devastating it is to lose someone you love to opioids. That’s why we don’t just train Life Care Specialists to educate, but to truly connect with people,” said Rice. The program is designed to make sure every specialist is fully prepared for the complexities of patient care.” From understanding HIPAA and pain management to addressing grief, mourning, and adverse childhood experiences, they come out of training with the tools to make a real difference in these communities. More importantly, they come out ready to provide the kind of support that I wish every family facing this crisis had access to.”
A specific degree or background in health care is not a requirement to become an LCS. It is particularly important that they possess the qualities needed to serve as patient advocates and to be effective in their healing. LCSs must have compassion and empathy, be unbiased, and have a deeply rooted desire to help those in need in their community.
To learn more about the LCS program, visit cwc.ngo/solutions/
Pictured: Life Care Specialists Alyssa Womack (Stephens County Hospital); Brandi Merritt and Nikkiya Paulk (Coffee Regional Medical Center)