Rural Communities Opioid Response-Implementation - Project Title: Puerto Rico RCORP-Implementation Requested award amount: $1,000,000 Applicant Organization Name: Migrant Health Center, Western Region, Inc. (MHC) Address: 491 South Ramon E. Betances Street P.O. Box 190, Mayaguez, P.R. 00681 Applicant organization facility type: Federally Qualified Health Center (community-based) Project Director Name and Title: Hendryx Malaret (MHC Special Projects Coordinator) Director Contact Information: Phone: 787-831-5800 / Email: mhc@migrantspr.com Current FY20 or FY21 RCORP-Implementation Award recipient: No EIN Exception Request in Attachment 8: No Learned about this funding opportunity: Grants.gov Number of Consortium Members & List of Consortium Members: 8 members Migrant Health Center Western Region, Inc. (EIN: 66-0427801); Puerto Rico Primary Care Association (EIN: 66-0427801); Camuy Health Services, Inc. (EIN: 66-0428652); Centro de Servicio Primarios de Salud de Patillas (EIN: 66-0430826); Centro de Salud Lares, Inc. (EIN: 66-0426506); HPM Foundation, Inc. (EIN: 66-0437924); Iniciativa Comunitaria de Investigación, Inc. (EIN: 66-0483960); and Intercambios Puerto Rico, Inc. (EIN: 66-0731885). Previous/current RCORP Award Recipient: Yes FY20 RCORP-Implementation Applicant. Brief Description of the Target Population: The proposed target population is high-risk rural communities from Puerto Rico (PR). A total of 158,265 individuals resides in fully rural and 42,232 within partially rural designated municipalities. The population majority are Hispanic/Latinx individuals (98.7%), primarily impoverished populations. The Project will prioritize target populations who have historically suffered from poorer health outcomes or health disparities, as compared to the rest of the target rural population. The following areas of need were identified in rural PR, henceforth guiding Project activities: 1) insufficient number of addiction treatment specialists; 2) insufficient training to provide evidence-based care for patients with OUD; 3) lack of education on high-risk communities relating to prevention, treatment, and recovery; 4) the provision of medication for OUD is often not standardized nor integrated; 5) stigmatizing attitude towards patients with SUD/OUD; 6) poor access to referrals for specific services that meet patients’ needs; 7) need for training for medical staff in rural areas (regarding SUD/OUD); 8) increase amount of actively prescribing MAT providers; 9) increase the number of culturally competent substance use providers, sensitive to the realities faced by SUD/OUD persons; 10) lack of standardized and centralized data collection and reporting efforts regarding SUD/OUD; and 11) increase access to Naloxone for individuals, relatives, and agencies. The priority populations identified by the PR-RCORP include: Level 1- persons who inject drugs; Level 2- service providers, on an individual level; and Level 3- agencies, across all levels of the organization. Target Service Area: The proposed target population is high-risk rural communities from Puerto Rico. The target service area, according to the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, is composed of twenty-one (21) municipalities and counties, out of which nine (9) are designated as fully rural (Adjuntas, Coamo, Culebra, Jayuya, Las Marias, Maricao, Salinas, Santa Isabel, and Vieques) and twelve (12) as partially rural (Añasco 72011810100, Cabo Rojo 72023980000, Camuy 72027320500, Cataño 72033980008 / 72033990201, Ceiba 72037160100, Lares 72081958300 / 72081958400, Maunabo 72095951400 / 72095951500 / 72095951600, Orocovis 72107954901, Rio Grande 72119992700, San Juan 72127980300, Utuado 72141956900 / 72141957200, and Yauco 72153750101). Does target service area overlap: No. In Puerto Rico there is no other RCORP grant recipient. This is the only RCORP-funded recipient, currently awarded through planning funds exclusively.
