Saturday, March 22, 2025
3/22/2025
Valleywise Health: Going to the MAT to Fight OUDs will provide prevention, treatment, and recovery assistance for at least 605 low-income, racially/ethnically diverse and at-risk individuals who battle prescription drug and opioid addition in Maricopa County, Arizona. To meet documented gaps in care, goals include expanding the workforce accompanied by training and systemic capacity building, while aiding long-term recovery for individuals diagnosed with an Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). The strategies to achieve these goals will include: building a team of Integrated Behavioral Health Peer Recovery Support Specialists to expand career opportunities and ensure program sustainability; increasing the number of medical and psychiatric providers, residents and child fellows who possess a DATA-2000 waiver, thus allowing them to prescribe MAT medications in integrated health care settings; expanding the availability of MAT services throughout the Valleywise Health system of care; reducing stigma related to MAT services by providing educational materials and training workshops to providers and staff; and expanding referrals and service delivery with partner organizations through the creation of an Advisory Council with community stakeholders. These actions will help Valleywise Health, our community and the state address numerous gaps in the treatment and support of individuals with OUD as identified in the current Arizona Department of Health Services Opioid Action Plan. Valleywise Health serves as the public safety-net system for the state’s most populous county (Maricopa) which is also home to 62% of Arizona's residents. Eighty-three percent of Valleywise Health ambulatory patients are racially/ethnically diverse and nearly 85% are low income, making them eligible to receive services paid through Arizona Medicaid or other form of government insurance. We train over 400 residents each year, making it one of the largest medical teaching programs in the Southwest. This project will add seven Integrated Behavioral Health Peer Recovery Support Specialists during grant implementation. Going to the MAT to Fight OUDs will provide services to at least 605 individuals over the course of the project period: Y1 – 25; Y2 – 50; Y3 – 100; Y4 – 150; Y5 – 280. This will include specialty populations such as the justice-involved, active duty military, individuals with HIV/AIDS, persons with a serious mental illness, veterans and military families. Success at the end of the grant term will be measured by the increased number of individuals with OUD who receive MAT in conjunction with a decrease in illicit opioid drug use and prescription opioid misuse for our patients. Additionally, VH will become an Arizona State University Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes- Medication Assisted Treatment (ECHO) Center of Excellence.
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).