Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Overdose Response - Address Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc 1205 F Avenue Douglas, AZ 85607-1920 Project Director Name Susan Rich, MS Contact Phone Numbers 520.459.3011 ext 7576 (voice) 520.364.4261 (fax) Email Address surich@cchci.org Website Address cchci.org Requested Funding Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Overdose Response $300,000 The purpose of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of substance use disorders in rural counties. Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (Chiricahua) proposes to use RCORP–Overdose Response funding to hire and train both behavioral health technicians, for community-based screenings for substance use disorder, and peer recovery supports specialists, to work in primary care and behavioral health clinics in Cochise County, Arizona. This funding will not only improve the identification of individuals with substance use disorder but also increase the efficacy of the health center’s medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services which ultimately will impact morbidity and mortality. The target service area includes 16 census tracts in Cochise County; essentially the whole county except for the southwestern quadrant. The need is great given that overdose deaths in Cochise County increased 65% from April 2021 to April 2022, the largest spike in the state. Cochise County has witnessed tragic increases in deaths from both drug and alcohol misuse over the last decade. The 2020 Arizona Vital Statistics reported the drug overdose mortality rates as 36.3 deaths per 100,000 individuals for Arizona and 36.6 for Cochise County compared to a national rate of 28.3. The number of opioids prescribed by practitioners and then dispensed by pharmacists has been directly linked to opioid misuse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2017 data of opioid dispensing rates from retail pharmacies showed an increased rate for our county in comparison to the state and the country: 59.0 prescriptions per 100,000 individuals nationally; a rate of 61.2 in Arizona and 69.0 for Cochise County. By 2020, the county’s rate had fallen to 34.4 which is lower than the rates for the state (40.5) and the US (43.3). In 2018, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, rated Cochise County in high need for opioid treatment services, with a low to no capacity to meet patient need. The number of data waived providers, those who can prescribe medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders, was 15 in 2021. The number of data waived providers has increased in 2022, but the rates of drug and alcohol-related deaths have outpaced this growth. Cochise County is designated as both a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for medical, mental health, and dental services; is a medically underserved area (MUA); and Chiricahua is the only federally qualified health center (FQHC) in the county. Forty-five percent of the population are racial and ethnic minorities; 35.9% are individuals from low-income households; and 18% of adults are excessive drinkers.
