Back to Faculty
Faculty

Tara Dewees

LPCA
Director of Behavioral Health Outreach and Recovery
Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc.

Tara Dewees is the Director of Behavioral Health Outreach and Recovery Services at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), where she leads system-wide recovery and harm reduction efforts across 14 hospitals in Kentucky and West Virginia.

Tara began her career at ARH as its first Peer Recovery Coach. Since then, she has held several leadership roles, including System Coordinator for Peer Recovery Services. Through her work, she expanded the Reverse the Cycle peer program from one hospital to all 14 ARH hospitals, increasing access to peer support for people affected by substance use.

Today, Tara oversees ARH’s Peer Recovery Coaches and guides behavioral health and harm reduction strategies. She helps implement evidence-based programs, expand access to therapy, coordinate community outreach, and strengthen collaboration between patients and providers.

Tara is passionate about helping people find hope and healing through recovery. She works to reduce barriers to care, build strong community partnerships, and make behavioral health services more accessible and effective throughout Appalachia. She holds a Master of Education in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA).

2027 Sessions

From Bedside to Community: The Power of Peer Recovery Support

Session Description: This session introduces Reverse the Cycle, a peer-led overdose response and recovery engagement model embedded within the Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) system. This innovative program uses Peer Recovery Coaches (PRCs) with lived experience to meet patients at critical moments-offering hope, support, and immediate options for recovery. PRCs provide real-time bedside support, Narcan distribution, harm reduction education, and rapid linkage to treatment for individuals identified through emergency department visits, inpatient admissions, SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment), SDoH (Social Determinants of Health) screenings, CRAFT assessments, and targeted street outreach in high-risk and homeless areas. A key feature of the program is the integration of inpatient medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) induction and bridge prescribing, ensuring patients receive immediate treatment initiation and seamless continuity of care post-discharge. This approach reduces relapse risk and increases engagement with ongoing treatment. Beyond hospital walls, peers collaborate with courts, jails, probation and parole, and reentry programs to support justice-involved individuals, helping them navigate recovery at every stage. They also assist participants with workforce development, connecting them to job training, education, and employment resources to address long-term social and economic needs.Attendees will learn how this model saves lives while generating measurable healthcare savings. ARH has achieved reductions in 30-day readmissions, improved patient satisfaction, and decreased lengths of stay-demonstrating that peer integration benefits both patients and hospitals. Key takeaways include: Embedding peer support into hospital and community workflows Implementing SBIRT, SDoH, and CRAFT screenings Launching inpatient MOUD and bridge prescribing programs Engaging justice-involved populations and supporting reentry Using outreach tracking and data tools for outcome measurement Participants will leave with a replicable model bridging acute care, justice systems, and recovery support in rural, high-need communities.

Presenter

Thursday, April 01 11:15–12:30 PM
1.25 Credits
Recovery Support
Faculty

Tara Dewees

LPCA
Director of Behavioral Health Outreach and Recovery
Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc.

Tara Dewees is the Director of Behavioral Health Outreach and Recovery Services at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), where she leads system-wide recovery and harm reduction efforts across 14 hospitals in Kentucky and West Virginia.

Tara began her career at ARH as its first Peer Recovery Coach. Since then, she has held several leadership roles, including System Coordinator for Peer Recovery Services. Through her work, she expanded the Reverse the Cycle peer program from one hospital to all 14 ARH hospitals, increasing access to peer support for people affected by substance use.

Today, Tara oversees ARH’s Peer Recovery Coaches and guides behavioral health and harm reduction strategies. She helps implement evidence-based programs, expand access to therapy, coordinate community outreach, and strengthen collaboration between patients and providers.

Tara is passionate about helping people find hope and healing through recovery. She works to reduce barriers to care, build strong community partnerships, and make behavioral health services more accessible and effective throughout Appalachia. She holds a Master of Education in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA).

Faculty

Amber Stepp

APSS, CCHW, CSA
Lead Recovery Coach
Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc.

Amber Stepp serves as Lead Recovery Coach for Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), supporting peer recovery services across hospitals in Kentucky and West Virginia. She joined ARH in 2022 as a Peer Recovery Coach at Harlan ARH, providing individualized support to people experiencing substance use and mental health challenges. Her dedication to patient advocacy and recovery support led to her advancement into systemwide leadership.

Through ARH’s Reverse the Cycle program, Amber oversees a peer support team providing bedside interventions, overdose prevention and harm reduction education, treatment linkage, and connections to community resources. She supports staff development, program implementation, and collaboration with healthcare teams to strengthen the continuum of care from hospital to community. Her outreach efforts also connect people experiencing homelessness and those involved in the justice system with recovery resources and reentry support.

Beyond ARH, Amber serves as Vice Chair of the Harlan UNITE Coalition and Chairperson of the Harlan County ASAP Board, helping advance collaborative efforts to prevent substance misuse, reduce stigma, and expand access to recovery support.

Amber is an Adult Peer Support Specialist, Community Support Associate, and Certified Community Health Worker. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the University of the Cumberlands. Drawing on her lived experience in recovery and professional leadership, she is committed to creating hope, strengthening community connections, and expanding recovery opportunities throughout Appalachia.
Back to top