Conejo Health Honored With Community Memorial Innovation Award

Community Memorial Healthcare is proud to present Conejo Health with its inaugural Innovation Award, recognizing their outstanding commitment to advancing substance use prevention, treatment, and compassionate patient care.

Over the last decade, the impact of substance on Community Memorial and the broader healthcare system has been significant. Between 2013 and 2023, overdose deaths in Ventura County increased by 110%. In 2023 alone, 265 lives were lost.

“We asked ourselves what were we doing about a national crisis in our own county,” said Maureen Hodge, Director of Behavioral Health & Grants at Community Memorial. “We started to take a closer look at how we as healthcare providers could make a difference.”

The turning point came in 2023, when Community Memorial received a grant to hire a Substance Use Navigator (SUN) for its Emergency Department in Ventura. The Community Memorial team met Matthew Pall and Ian Anderson of Conejo Health, who brought unique lived experience and countywide connections to the effort. Their leadership and expertise proved transformative.

In less than two and a half years, Conejo Health has helped shape Community Memorial’s approach to supporting patients with substance use issues. Since 2023, Conejo Health:

• Facilitated over 2,100 patient encounters through the Substance Use Navigator program, providing case management, harm reduction, and connections to outpatient care.
• Made free harm reduction kits available to patients at all Community Memorial Health Centers and Community Memorial Emergency Departments.
• Developed medication-assisted treatment (MAT) protocols with emergency department physicians, pharmacists, and frontline staff, including innovative micro-inductions.
• Partnered with Community Memorial’s Street Medicine program, enhancing provider skills and knowledge to support vulnerable populations.

“Conejo Health’s dedication has been remarkable,” said Kristine Supple, Associate Vice President of Care Coordination. “They have not only helped shape our team but have built a model of care rooted in honesty, compassion, and effectiveness.”

Community Memorial’s Innovation Award celebrates organizations and individuals whose work demonstrates vision, creativity, and impact in addressing the community’s most pressing health challenges. Conejo Health’s achievements set a new standard for patient-centered, integrated substance use care in Ventura County.