.jpg "Polly Jessen, CPRS photo")
Staff Development Coordinator
Frontier Health
Johnson City, Tennessee
Polly is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist in Tennessee who currently serves as the Staff Development Coordinator for Frontier Health at the Turning Point location in Johnson City, Tennessee. She is a person in long term recovery from mental illness and substance use. Polly has worked for Frontier Health since 2013 and has served as an advocate in the community by regularly speaking, organizing events related to recovery and stigma reduction, as well as maintaining community partnerships with area hospitals and organizations. Polly oversaw the Recovery Navigator program from the initial implementation and has helped it become a permanent part of the Frontier Health crisis system.
Due to the success of the Recovery Navigator program, Polly has been able to connect clients who have overdosed, or have presented to a local hospital seeking drug and alcohol recovery services to immediate detox and treatment resources. She has also provided ongoing peer support throughout the recovery process. Polly believes the availability of peers improves the quality of life for those encountered, improves engagement with services, decreases future hospitalizations, and ultimately reduces the overall cost of services.
Polly also supervises other peers and facilitates a variety of trainings on topics such as verbal de-escalation, crisis management, substance use trends, as well as ethics and boundaries for paraprofessionals. Polly’s goals are to increase the availability and efficacy of peer-led programs, decrease the stigma of mental health and substance use issues in the community, and to continue empowering peers to meet their individual recovery goals.
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
4:30 PM – 5:45 PM ET