The overarching goal of the NARWHAL (Northern Arizona Rural Wellness & Healthcare Access for Mothers with Substance Use) Program is to connect existing prenatal, labor and delivery, postpartum, pediatric, and substance use disorder treatment providers to increase patient engagement, integrated whole-person care, and wraparound services for pregnant and postpartum women with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), including Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and their families in Coconino County and surrounding communities in Northern Arizona.
The Arizona State Pilot Program for Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women project will address the following goals and objectives:
Goal 1: Increase outreach, engagement, screening, assessment, and retention of PPW with a SUD diagnosis, including OUD, in SUD treatment and recovery services, specifically targeting rural and underserved Northern Arizona geographic service area.
Goal 2: Develop community partner connections, increase knowledge, and improve coordinated and collaborative care through facilitation of a multi-sector Steering Committee. This committee will bring together primary, obstetric, pediatric and behavioral healthcare providers, substance use treatment service providers, government agencies, managed care organizations, law enforcement, corrections, people with lived experiences, and community programs providing wrap-around supports for PPW and their families.
Goal 3: Increase accessibility, effectiveness, and retention in, substance use disorder treatment and recovery services for PPW with a SUD, including OUD.
Goal 4: Work with partners to create a sustainability plan beyond the life of the 2024 PPW pilot funds.
Objectives include 1: Serving a total of 45 unduplicated women: year 1 (15), year 2 (15), and year 3 (15). 2: Develop and implement partnerships across public, behavioral, substance use disorder treatment, OB/GYN, and pediatric health care partners that will result in improved collaborative care for the priority population. 3: Develop a sustainable and replicable model of comprehensive, patient-and-provider collaboratively developed treatment care plans that meet participants "where they are, with what they need", and reflect a family-focused approach targeting rural, underserved geographic service areas of Northern Arizona. 4: Utilize Community Healthcare Workers with lived experience to support connections between OB/GYN, primary care, Labor and Delivery, and substance use disorder treatment.