Minnesota Rural Detox Initiative Provides Relief for Critical Access to Hospitals for Substance Use Disorder Patients

Photo by Brett Patzke / Unsplash

The Minnesota Rural Detox Initiative provides help to critical access hospitals across Minnesota to place SUD (substance use disorder) individuals at the closest, quickest, and most relevant level of care for addiction detox and treatment.

The Minnesota Rural Detox Initiative (MNRDI) is a project of MARATP (Minnesota Alliance of Rural Addiction Treatment Programs) that will change the landscape of rural detox in the state of Minnesota. The main goals of the initiative (MNRDI) are to educate, coordinate, and re-locate.

MARATP recognized that Minnesota has a two-fold issue with detoxification across the state when it comes to helping those who struggle with substance use disorder (SUD):

  1. The rate of overdose has risen considerably in the last several years.
  2. There are not enough detox beds in rural Minnesota to meet the growing demand. This causes a lack of care for people who continue to struggle with SUD.

“Patient habits and survival instincts are forcing Minnesota critical access hospitals to intake people across the state who struggle with addiction into Emergency Rooms. This creates confusion and unnecessary expense on many levels and for all of those involved. Our program (MNRDI) will bring addiction detoxification and treatment statewide to one communication platform with focused goals towards continued care for those who struggle.” said Marti Paulson, President of MARATP and CEO of Project Turnabout.

MNRDI project goals:

  • Educate: Fully accessible, printed, and online training for nurses and other healthcare professionals. This will give them the tools to interact and help those who struggle with substance use disorder.
  • Coordinate: A systemized approach to communication, prioritizing the patients’ needs from one healthcare facility to another to make their transition comfortable and stable.
  • Re-locate: Transportation from first responder or point of contact to the appropriate level of care that fits the patient’s individual needs (Detoxification, high intensity treatment, etc.).

Overall, MNRDI and its goals represent a greater mission by MARATP to improve rural access to higher quality, lower cost health care for all Minnesotans. Jeremy Radtke, the MNRDI Project Manager, is looking forward to being an asset to the team and helping to build a sustainable program that can become a future model for simplifying the complex world of SUD in Minnesota and across the country.


MARATP is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2017 as a 501(c)(6) to advocate for and with other providers who treat patients from rural Minnesota. The Minnesota Alliance of Rural Addiction Treatment Programs brings together diverse rural interests to address and advocate for strong addiction treatment programs throughout Greater Minnesota. MARATP advocates for legislation and policies that strengthen the health and well-being of rural Minnesotans, and improves rural access to higher quality, lower cost health care.

Last Updated on May 19, 2023

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