Finding the Patients
In a treatment desert, the demand for care is real but disconnected from the care itself. Our whole job is to connect the two — and because almost everyone we serve is on Medicaid, there is no cost barrier standing in the way.
The core point: demand is already there
A treatment desert is not a place where no one needs help. It is a place where people need help and cannot reach it. The overdoses are happening. The emergency-room visits are happening. The people who want to stop are already trying. What is missing is a door they can actually walk through.
So patient acquisition here is not about creating demand. It is about meeting demand that already exists and removing the things that block it: distance, waitlists, and the fear of a bill. Medicaid handles the bill. Our mobile unit and telehealth handle the distance. Same-day starts handle the waitlist. Our job is to be visible, easy to reach, and ready the moment someone is willing.
Nearly everyone we serve is covered by Medicaid, which pays for medication for opioid use disorder and the behavioral-health care around it. The patient pays nothing out of pocket. That removes the single biggest reason people hesitate, and it lets every channel below convert better.
Where the patients come from
We do not rely on one source. We build a set of channels that each reach people at a different moment — right after an overdose, on release from jail, at a regular doctor's visit, or through a friend already in recovery. Together they create a steady flow into the program.
Emergency departments & EMS
The strongest moment to reach someone is right after an overdose or a naloxone reversal. We set up warm handoffs so the emergency department or EMS crew connects the person directly to us — ideally with a peer who meets them before they leave. This is a high-intent, high-need referral that other providers rarely capture.
The justice system
Jails, drug courts, probation, and reentry programs all touch people who need treatment. The window right after release carries the highest overdose risk because tolerance drops. We partner with these systems so people leaving custody go straight into medication and support instead of back to the street.
Primary care, health centers & pharmacies
Family doctors, federally qualified health centers, and local pharmacies see people long before a crisis. They want somewhere to send patients who need specialized addiction care. We become that referral destination, and we accept the handoff the same day.
Harm reduction & peer networks
Syringe-services programs, recovery-community organizations, and peer networks already have the trust of active users. We partner with them so the people they reach can step into treatment when they are ready. Word of mouth inside a recovery community is one of the most reliable sources of new patients.
The mobile unit itself
The van is its own marketing. Parked in a community on a predictable schedule, it is visible, local, and obviously open for care. It removes the travel barrier that keeps people away from a distant clinic and signals that help is right here, today.
Digital & search
People search for help privately, often late at night. We already own relevant domains — buprenorphine.io, chicagobuprenorphine.com, chicagosuboxone.com, and fentanyl-rehab.com — plus telehealth intake and a presence alongside the Illinois Helpline. Someone can find us and start the same day without leaving home.
A summary of the channels
| Channel | The moment it reaches people | How we activate it |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency departments & EMS | Right after an overdose or naloxone reversal | Warm handoffs, peer meets the patient before discharge |
| Justice system | In custody and on release (highest-risk window) | Jail, drug-court, probation and reentry partnerships |
| Primary care, health centers & pharmacies | Routine visits before a crisis | Referral agreements; same-day acceptance |
| Harm reduction & peer networks | Among active users who already trust the source | Partnerships with recovery orgs; peer referral |
| Mobile unit | In the community, on a set schedule | Visible, recurring stops that remove travel |
| Digital & search | When someone looks for help privately | Owned domains, telehealth intake, Illinois Helpline |
Turning interest into enrolled patients
Finding someone is only half the work. The other half is making it easy to actually start and stay. A few levers do most of that work.
Same-day, low-barrier starts
When someone is ready, we start them that day. No long intake, no two-week wait. The willingness to begin treatment is often brief, and we are built to catch it.
Telehealth reach
Telehealth intake and follow-up let us serve people who cannot travel and keep them connected between mobile-unit visits. It widens our reach far beyond a single parking spot.
Peer navigators
People who have been through recovery themselves guide new patients through the first weeks. They build trust, answer questions, and keep people coming back.
No out-of-pocket cost
On Medicaid, the patient owes nothing. Removing the bill removes the most common reason people give up before they start.
The data advantage: where and when
Two questions decide whether outreach works: where is the unmet need, and when should we focus there. Our data answers both.
Where — the county index
Our Illinois county priority index ranks all 102 counties on overdose burden, social vulnerability, how thin the treatment supply is, and whether a mobile unit fits. It points us straight at the deserts — places like Vermilion, the southern-Illinois corridor of Franklin, Saline, Jefferson and Marion, and underserved parts of Cook — where demand is high and supply is near zero.
When — near-real-time signals
Death-certificate data runs months behind. Faster signals do not: EMS naloxone administrations, overdose mapping that flags spikes within a day, and wastewater drug detection that catches a more dangerous supply before bodies reach the morgue. These tell us which week and which neighborhood to concentrate outreach.
The index tells us where to place a unit. The real-time signals tell us when and where to push outreach hardest. Together they put our peers and our van in front of people at the exact moment demand is rising — which fills the unit faster and saves more lives per dollar.
The intake funnel, start to finish
Everything above fits into one simple sequence.
We use the index and the live signals to pick the area. We place the mobile unit there and activate the referral channels. When someone shows up or calls, we start them the same day. Then peer navigators and integrated behavioral health keep them in care — which is where most of the long-term value comes from, since behavioral health roughly doubles the value of each patient.
Why fill rate is the whole game
A mobile unit's economics depend almost entirely on how many patients it serves. A unit and its supporting clinic carry roughly 340 active patients at steady state, and the breakeven point is about 248 patients verify. Below that line, grants bridge the gap while the unit ramps. Above it, the unit is profitable.
Every channel, lever, and data signal on this page exists to push the unit from ramp toward and past that breakeven census, and then to keep patients enrolled long enough for behavioral health to do its work. Get the fill rate right and the economics take care of themselves.