Venice Family Clinic Project Abstract
Project Name: Venice Family Clinic Expansion of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
Venice Family Clinic, a Federally Qualified Health Center with seventeen locations in Los Angeles County, will expand access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid and alcohol use, as well as comprehensive psychosocial substance use services including therapy, counseling, case management, overdose prevention medication and education, and linkages to other recovery services to 1,060 unique individuals across the five years with grant funds.
Population to be served: Venice Family Clinic serves almost 40,000 patients annually across the Western and Southern regions of Los Angeles County. All patients live below 200% of the federal poverty level, with the majority (72%) below 100%; over 4,400 are experiencing homelessness. More than two-thirds (68%) are members of racial and ethnic minority groups, and a third (32%) are best served in a language other than English. 25% are uninsured. The specific population the population of focus is low-income adults in need of comprehensive
substance use services, particularly Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD). We expect that over a third of those we serve will be experiencing homelessness; over one in five will be uninsured, while over two-thirds will be covered by Medicaid; over half will be a member of a racial/ethnic minority.
Strategies/interventions: We will utilize the significant resources provided by this grant to reach new clients in additional neighborhoods, expanding the number of individuals screened for substance use as well as the number receiving MAT for opioid and alcohol use at Venice Family Clinic by hiring a new MAT clinician, providing the resources for additional clinicians interested in receiving their x-waiver to do so, and adding a new buprenorphine refill group, as needed. We also plan to use funds to provide trauma-informed, non-judgmental, supportive, and culturally appropriate psychosocial services and expand therapy, counseling, and case management capacity. An additional certified drug and alcohol counselor and a case manager will be added to our staff to help us meet this goal. Lastly, we will utilize funds to strengthen our processes, improve our workflows, and train new staff in harm reduction, trauma-informed care, and evidence-based practices for substance use services.
Project goals/objectives: With this grant, we expect to reach 180-400 people annually. In addition, the program expects to screen 10,000 people for substance use per year. We will connect 550-650 patients a year with an opioid use disorder diagnosis to Medication Assisted Treatment. 150-350 patients a year with MOUD will be reached with therapy or counseling (one-on-one or in a group setting). We expect to refer at least 200 people annually to external SUD services like detox, residential treatment, and recovery support annually. Our outreach efforts will be broad and seek to reach 1,500-3,500 people annually. We will ensure that Narcan is in our patients’ hands by providing at least 200 prescriptions annually and distributing 10,000 doses annually. Finally, we will provide 2,000 fentanyl test strips annually as part of our harm reduction approach.