Project Name: Evening/Weekend Mobile Team: Medication-Assisted Treatment. Working across 13+ community partners, led by a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, this project will expand/enhance access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and accompanying psychosocial services for vulnerable residents who face an opioid use disorder (OUD), often with co-occurring mental health and other substance use disorders, living across Nassau and Suffolk Counties (NY). Compared to the county’s general population, our target population disproportionately comprises individuals and persons of lower income, less education, less housing stability, and more involvement with the criminal justice system. The desired outcomes for this program are: (1) an increase in the number of individuals with OUD receiving MAT; and (2) a decrease in illicit opioid drug use and prescription misuse at six-month follow-up.
This funding will launch and support a new Evening and Weekend Mobile Team of clinicians and peers—filling service gaps—to (1) conduct outreach, (2) identify persons in potential need of MAT, (3) administer screenings and assessments using evidence-based tools, (4) build motivation for treatment (through peer pre-engagement and motivational interviewing), (5) deliver MAT and treatment for co-occurring disorders to those who clinically qualify, and (6) support clients in their treatment and recovery, while conducting structured GPRA interviews at intake, 6 months post-intake, and discharge. Further, this program aims to reduce diversion of MAT medications by boosting availability of (and interest in) long-acting injectable medications.
In a coordinated way, this project will screen individuals across risk-communities using targeted evidence-based tools that identify possible Opioid and other Substance Use Disorders, Alcohol Use Disorder, depression, and suicide risk. It will also deploy (at least) the following 7 Evidence-Based Practices in behavioral health, well suited for our target population: (1) FDA-approved types of Medication-Assisted Treatment/therapy (MAT) for OUD; (2) Peer Support; (3) Motivational Interviewing; (4) Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders; (5) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); (6) Family Psychoeducation; and (7) Trauma-Informed Care.
Over five years, this project will reach 3,500 individuals via outreach, ultimately enrolling and methodically serving 460 persons (80, 100, 100, 100, and 80 in Years 1-5 respectively) by delivering Medication-Assisted Treatment and/or other forms of Opioid Use Disorder treatment and/or integrated treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders. Beyond increasing the # of persons receiving MAT and decreasing illicit opioid use and Rx misuse among persons served, a sampling of the measurable objectives we include in our plan are: conducting = 3,000 behavioral health screenings/assessments using evidence-supported protocols; engaging = 80% of those persons seeking services with peer support within 24 hours of request; increasing the percentage of engaged OUD clients who receive MAT from 50% to 70%; and offering injectable medications to at least 80% of individuals receiving MAT.
