Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
This project, titled WCHN’s SBIRT Initiative: From Training to Implementation, will implement SBIRT practices across ten primary care sites using an interdisciplinary model. All patients presenting for well visits will undergo pre-screening and if in need of further services will be referred to the practice’s integrated behavioral health consultant. This project will leverage relationships with specialty treatment providers in the community as well as ongoing SBIRT training initiatives. In 2015, Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) received a three-year SBIRT training grant. That project has demonstrated incredible success, having trained more students than anticipated and gained significant provider buy-in. However, because SBIRT currently is not widely practiced across our inpatient and outpatient sites, trainees are unable to consistently apply their SBIRT skills in the real world. The proposed program fills this gap and is the next logical step in WCHN’s SBIRT rollout. Populations served: The Greater Danbury and Norwalk, Connecticut communities represent a microcosm of the challenges the U.S. faces in countering alcohol and substance use disorders. Rates of binge drinking, illicit drug use, and opioid abuse are greater in these regions than in much of the U.S., as are the consequences of substance misuse, such as accidental deaths. The populations of focus for this project will be all adults and adolescents aged 16 years and older who present to participating primary care practices for an annual wellness visit. Project goals and measurable objectives: include 1) Implement pre-screening for alcohol and substance misuse at WCMG primary care sites; 2) Implement full screening for alcohol and substance misuse among patients who score positively on the pre-screen; 3) Implement brief intervention and/or referral to treatment, as applicable to individual patients; and 4) Track patient outcomes. It is anticipated that this project will serve 10,000 individuals in years 1 and 5 each, 19,000 individuals annually for years 2 through 4, and a total 30,000 individuals over the lifetime of the project. Strategies to achieve these objectives: As part of this project, alcohol and substance abuse pre-screening will be hardwired into the electronic medical record and administered to individuals aged 16 and older during wellness visits at participating primary care sites. Integrated behavioral health social workers will administer full screening to those patients who score positively on the pre-screen. Those who score positively on the full screen will receive further evaluation, brief intervention, and referral to specialty treatment, as appropriate. This project will leverage WCHN’s array of treatment offerings as well as existing relationships with specialty treatment providers to ensure timely access to treatment.
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).
