HAP Achievement Awards: Temple University Hospital

August 21, 2026

HAP's annual Achievement Awards honor hospitals and health systems for their innovation, creativity, and commitment to patient care. The Achievement Awards showcase and share member hospitals’ and health systems’ successful programs and best practices.

Temple University Hospital received the Optimal Operations Award for optimizing inpatient substance use disorder treatment to increase patient engagement and reduce length of stay and readmissions.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The challenge:  A rapidly changing drug supply led to more severe, difficult-to-treat withdrawal symptoms, leaving traditional inpatient units and detox programs struggling to meet patients’ needs.
• Addressing the Issue:  Patient data and frontline experience revealed inconsistent withdrawal management, uneven access to addiction treatment and peer support, high rates of patients leaving before treatment was complete, and growing pressure on intensive care resources.
• Taking Action:  A dedicated care unit was created for patients with severe substance use disorder withdrawal, supported by standardized treatment protocols, specially trained nurses, addiction medicine specialists, peer recovery support, and coordinated discharge planning.
• Results:  More patients received medications for opioid use disorder, addiction medicine consultation, and peer recovery support, while hospital length of stay and 30-day readmission rates declined.
• Advancing Care:  The redesign helped move care beyond a one-size-fits-all approach for substance use disorder, showing how “the intermediate care unit framework allows organizations to rapidly adjust protocols, education, and treatment strategies in response to new adulterants or withdrawal presentations.”

Congratulations to Temple University Hospital for its outstanding efforts to improve operations and care. Learn more about the project online.

Questions about the HAP Achievement Awards may be directed to HAP Member Services at (717) 561-5359.