The Oklahoma Rural Renewal Project (RENEW): Providing Telehealth, Suicide Prevention, Trauma Focused Treatment, Recovery Supports, Employee Wellness, and Crisis Services to 7 Rural Oklahoma Counties - "The Oklahoma Rural Renewal Project (RENEW): Providing Telehealth, Suicide Prevention, Trauma Focused Treatment, Recovery Supports, Employee Wellness, and Crisis Services to 7 Rural Oklahoma Counties" funds services addressing the challenges from COVID-19 of the 59% needing treatment not receiving it, the 683% increase in hospital bed days, the 508% increase in enhanced foster care placements, and the 22% increase in statewide recorded suicides. This project is to support the 316,200 inhabitants of the counties of Adair, Creek, Cherokee, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Sequoyah, and Wagoner, and the needs of the estimated 12,545 adults with severe mental illness (SMI), 7,540 children with severe emotional disturbance (SED), and 10,441 adults and children with co-occurring disorders (COD). RENEW has the following goals: 1. Strengthen and improve the infrastructure to provide audio and audio-visual HIPAA compliant telehealth; 2. Reduce suicide deaths by implementing a suicide care pathway; 3. Enhance CREOKS' capacity to provide trauma-specific evidence-based therapies; 4. Expand supported employment to all clinics and establish the first certified Recovery Residence for COD in the catchment area; 5. Improve the wellness of CREOKS staff; and 6. Decrease hospitalizations. RENEW funds additional devices and supports the ongoing cost of data charges for CREOKS' telehealth network. Outreach will be conducted to community partners to encourage a more robust use of telehealth. Suicide prevention will be improved by implementing agency wide screening at every visit along with a specialized team to provide engagement, service planning, and evidence-based treatment. This project adds the evidence-based practice of EMDR to its service array to address trauma and in year two Problematic Sexualized Behavior CBT (PSB-CBT) to address sexual abuse cases identified by DHS. RENEW will expand the implementation of supported employment for those with SMI throughout all 9 CMHC clinics and fund a housing specialist to ensure the establishment and clinical management of the first ever certified Recovery Residence for COD in the catchment area. It also provides for a licensed therapist to serve as the Wellness Coordinator to establish employee peer support, support groups, vicarious trauma debriefing, and a trauma-informed agency culture project. Lastly, the project funds the infrastructure for the furniture and equipment to establish a new facility-based crisis center in Wagoner County, and funds therapists to provide crisis counseling and implement the suicide care pathway. Outcomes are measured by the increase in data usage and billing codes within the telehealth network, engagement within 24 hours for those having treatment with suicidality post inpatient/crisis discharge, completion of the CAMS suicide prevention protocol, screening rates with the CATS and PCL-5, staff trained in EMDR, fielding a PSB-CBT team, numbers and rates of persons finding employment, establishing a Recovery Residence and persons housed, implementation of employee wellness initiatives, reduction in hospitalizations, and readmission rates. RENEW will serve 300 adults and children in year one and 600 over the course of the two-year project.
