Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis of Olympic Medical Center presented recognition awards to behavioral health intervention specialists Beverly Hughes, registered nurse, board certified in psychiatry and mental health, and Sarah Conway, master of social work, during Olympic Medical Center’s board of commissioners meeting on Sept. 7 for their work on the WASBIRT program at OMCl.

WASBIRT stands for “Washington Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment,” a nationally recognized screening tool to identify people with mild to severe substance use disorders.

Olympic Medical Center’s WASBIRT program has been named the most successful site in the state by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis Division.

From September 2013 through July 2016, 1,256 patients were referred to treatment through this program.

Of those referred patients, 42 percent sought substance use disorder treatment as compared to the national average of 6 to 8 percent.