HRSA and RCORP Implementation II Grant

The grant outlines 15 core activities which the Beyond Opioids Project strives to meet over its three year grant period.

The core activities are:

Prevention

1. Provide culturally and linguistically appropriate education to improve family members’,

caregivers’, and the public’s understanding of evidence-based prevention, treatment, and

recovery strategies for SUD/OUD, and to reduce stigma associated with the disease.

2. Increase access to naloxone within the rural service area and provide training on overdose

prevention and naloxone administration to ensure that individuals likely to respond to an

overdose can take the appropriate steps to reverse an overdose.

3. Implement year-round drug take-back programs.

4. Increase and support the use of school- and community-based prevention programs that are

evidence-based to prevent misuse of opioids and other substances.

5. Identify and screen individuals at risk for SUD/OUD and provide or make referrals to prevention,

harm reduction, early intervention, treatment, and other support services to minimize the

potential for the development of SUD/OUD.

Treatment

1. Screen and provide, or refer to, treatment patients with SUD/OUD who have infectious

complications, including HIV, viral hepatitis, and endocarditis, particularly among PWID.

2. Recruit, train, and mentor interdisciplinary teams of SUD/OUD clinical and social service

providers who are trained, certified, and willing to provide medication-assisted treatment

(MAT), including both evidence-based behavioral therapy (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy,

community reinforcement approach, etc.) and FDA-approved pharmacotherapy (e.g.,

buprenorphine, naltrexone). This can include providing support for the required training of

providers who are pursuing DATA 2000 waivers for the prescription of buprenorphine containing

products and intend to provide these medications to their patients.

3. Increase the number of providers and other health and social service professionals who are able

to identify and treat SUD/OUD by providing professional development opportunities and

recruitment incentives such as, but not limited to, the NHSC.

4. Reduce barriers to treatment, including by supporting integrated treatment and recovery,

including integration with behavioral health, the criminal justice system, dentistry, and social

services. As appropriate, provide support to pregnant women, children, and other at-risk

populations using approaches that minimize stigma and other barriers to care.

5. Strengthen collaboration with law enforcement and first responders to enhance their capability

of responding and/or providing emergency treatment to those with SUD/OUD.

6. Train providers, administrative staff, and other relevant stakeholders to optimize

reimbursement for treatment encounters through proper coding and billing across insurance

types to ensure financial sustainability of services.

7. Enable individuals, families, and caregivers to find, access, and navigate evidence-based,

affordable treatments for SUD/OUD, as well as home- and community-based services and social

supports.

Recovery

1. Enhance discharge coordination for people leaving inpatient treatment facilities and/or the

criminal justice system who require linkages to home and community-based services and social

supports, including case management, housing, employment, food assistance, transportation,

medical and behavioral health services, faith-based organizations, and sober/transitional living

Facilities.

2. Expand peer workforce and programming as interventionists in various settings, including

hospitals, emergency departments, law enforcement departments, jails, SUD/OUD treatment

programs, and in the community.

3. Support the development of recovery communities, recovery coaches, and recovery community

organizations to expand the availability of and access to recovery support services.