Thursday, April 10, 2025
4/10/2025
Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Overdose Response - Project Director: Ariel Porto, Senior Project Manager, Weitzman Institute, Moses/Weitzman Health System, Inc. 635 Main St., Middletown, CT 06457-2718, (774) 301-1333, portoar@mwhs1.com, https://www.mwhs1.com/ Funding requested: $211,673 The goal of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) – Overdose Response grant is to address immediate needs in rural areas through improving access to, capacity for, and sustainability of prevention, treatment, and recovery services for substance use disorder (SUD). The Moses/Weitzman Health System, Inc. (MHWS), through its Weitzman Institute, proposes a “Building a Community of Rural Peer Supporters in Ohio” (BCORP-OH) project to address the needs of rural Ohio residents with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). MWHS is a global leader addressing challenges faced by organizations caring for vulnerable and diverse populations and is home to programs focusing on education, research, and process improvement support for safety net providers. Its WI, an incubator for new ideas in areas including social justice, the environment, and social determinants of health, WI, will collaborate with Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) on BCORP-OH on a Peer Recovery Support ECHO for Certified Peer Recovery Supporters (CPRS) in rural Ohio. Although the state of Ohio has dedicated a large amount of resources toward helping more Ohio residents overcome the disease of addiction and maintain their recovery, little focus has been on enhancing the training of CPRSs’ serving rural Ohio residents with SUD, who experience inherent challenges based on their geography and population. Rural areas in Ohio have a higher incidence of residents with SUD with less access to opioid treatment providers and CPRSs. Because there are fewer CPRSs in rural areas in Ohio, they are often isolated from other CPRSs. It is crucial that CPRSs in rural Ohio feel connected to one another and not “alone” in their challenging work with rural residents with SUD. Through its experience and expertise in developing and running an existing Peer ECHO for Delaware and surrounding states, WI, with assistance from OhioMHAS, will design and implement a 14-session (one hour each, twice-monthly) Peer Recovery Support ECHO to provide continuing education and a learning community for 60 CPRSs in 68 counties designated rural or deemed eligible for rural status by HRSA and make the recordings available to all CPRSs in those counties. A core team of Peer Recovery Support ECHO faculty members will be recruited and will include a behavioral health clinician, an expert in services and local resources addressing SDOH, a CPRS training lead, and at least two experienced CPRSs to ensure the peer voice is represented and centered in all sessions. A learning community will exist through the ECHO to provide continuing education, mentorship, and connection across the CPRSs. CPRSs in Ohio typically serve an average of 20 individuals with SUD at any given time, so the minimum number of individuals served by this project through the 60 CPRS learners in the Peer Recovery Support ECHO is 1,200 rural Ohio residents with SUD. For the 100 CPRSs we anticipate will view the enduring materials, another 2,000 rural Ohio residents with SUD will be served. With an estimated minimum of 3,200 rural Ohio residents with SUD will be served by the 160 CPRSs trained during the BCORP-OH project, thus, achieving HRSA RCORP’s program goal of addressing immediate needs in rural areas through improving access to, capacity for, and sustainability of prevention, treatment, and recovery services for SUD.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).