The Ninilchik Traditional Council (NTC) Community Clinics have been providing Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) since 2016. With $250,000 in funding, NTC aims to improve their addiction clinic and ensure that MAT is available to all community members using opiates, regardless of race. Treatment plans will be customized based on diagnosis, need, risk of relapse, and assessment recommendations. This will be achieved through direct education for substance users, utilizing a mobile clinic van to reach those with transportation barriers, and continuing to provide case management and peer support for anyone living with a substance use disorder.
Since 2016, NTC recovery services has served around 500 people who report using opioids, with 125 active patients currently. Of these patients, 4% are Alaska Native/Native American, 7% reported Hepatitis C infection at intake, 15% receive services via telemed, 75% reported opiate and stimulant use at intake, and 38% reported a history of IV drug use. In 2021, NTC admitted 29 patients, with 97% being low income and qualifying for Medicaid, 0% being Alaska Native, 45% being 20-35 years old, and 41% residing in Ninilchik Tribal Boundaries.
Our current service gaps include treatment for stimulant use disorder, case management for people engaged with our treatment services, and behavioral health services.
With TOR funding for MOUD, NTC will enhance their current addiction medicine services to:
1) Utilizing our mobile clinic van to increase our footprint and provide MOUD/outreach/case management to those with barriers to care
2) Include case managers in our primary care setting to ensure medical MOUD patients have linkage to care, and hire an additional case manager to assist with our growing clinical needs.
3) Utilize peer support to provide outreach activities and community education from a peer support framework.
4) Continue providing substance use outreach and education
5) Increase solution-focused interventions, referral resources, motivational interviewing, social and emotional support.
6) Provide education, screening, care coordination, risk reduction interventions, testing, and counseling for people with OUD who are at risk of hepatitis C.
7) Partner with other primary care providers to increase community access to MOUD once patients have been stabilized in our primary care setting.
These enhancements to NTC MAT will increase community access to MOUD, encourage sustained abstinence from Opioids, reduce risk of release, reduce risk, of overdoes, reduce risk of infectious disease, reduce risk of diversion, reduce risk of recidivism, increase the number of individuals receiving MAT, with and overall observed decrease in illicit opioid drug use and prescription misuse.