The applicant agency, Neighbors Building Neighborhoods will serve a high-needs, designated rural region that encompasses the entirety of Haskell County, McIntosh County, Muskogee County, and Pittsburg County in Eastern Oklahoma. With high rates of overdose deaths, treatment needs, and use/misuse, the region is one of the highest need regions in the entire state. The project will address the service gaps of data-driven opioid-focused prevention resources, evidence-based strategies for educating healthcare providers about safe prescribing practices, awareness and education about the risks of counterfeit pills, and comprehensive regional information collection analysis and dissemination using PDMP and other relevant data.
Project goals are as follows. 1: Increase engagement and participation of community members, healthcare providers, key stakeholders, adults, youth, young adults, elders, spiritual advisors, and tribal leaders in planning and implementation of prevention efforts using a data-driven approach*. 2: Improve PDMP Partnerships 3: Raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug misuse; 4: Increase Medical Education and PDMP awareness; 5: Increase the Capacity for Diversion and Prevention Efforts, and 6: Incorporate the PDMP into a comprehensive prescription drug diversion and prevention strategy* including increased infrastructure/capacity to collect and track relevant data to ensure the use of a PDMP and other relevant data to address prescription drug misuse and opioid overdose.
Key partners on the project will be Cherokee Nation; Muskogee CAN; McIntosh County Coalition; Stigler Health and Wellness; Green Country Behavioral Health; Muskogee, Haskell, and Pittsburg County Sheriff's Departments; Muskogee Police Department; and EODD Area Agency on Aging.