Addressing Opioid Overdose Deaths (AOOD) - The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) proposes to implement the Addressing Opioid Overdose Deaths (AOOD) Program to reduce opioid overdose deaths by strengthening overdose prevention, expanding access to FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal medications (OORM), increasing first responder and community response capacity, and improving linkage to treatment and recovery services throughout the Choctaw Nation Tribal Service Area. Through coordinated partnerships with first responders, healthcare providers, behavioral health providers, community anchors, and recovery organizations, the AOOD Program will improve overdose response, expand community education, and strengthen recovery support for rural areas. The project will serve the Choctaw Nation's 13-county Tribal Service Area in Southeastern Oklahoma, including Atoka, Bryan, Choctaw, Coal, Haskell, Hughes, Johnston, Latimer, LeFlore, McCurtain, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, and Pushmataha Counties. The service area encompasses approximately 10,922 square miles and serves an estimated 250,000 residents, including more than 52,277 Choctaw tribal members, residing in predominantly rural communities with limited access to healthcare, behavioral health, and emergency services. The AOOD Program will directly train 360 unduplicated first responders and community partners annually (1,440 over the four-year project period). Participants will primarily be adults 18 years of age and older and will include firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel, healthcare providers, community anchor staff, and other key community partners. The project will also benefit overdose survivors, individuals at risk for opioid overdose, family members, and rural communities through expanded overdose prevention education, OORM distribution, warm handoff referrals, and peer recovery support services. The target population includes individuals at risk for opioid use disorder (OUD), opioid overdose, and other substance use disorders, particularly those living in rural communities experiencing limited medical resources/access, where long travel distances, workforce shortages, and mobility barriers delay access to emergency medical care and behavioral health services. The AOOD Program will implement evidence-informed strategies by providing standardized overdose prevention education; training first responders, healthcare providers, and community anchors; purchasing and distributing FDA-approved OORM; implementing standardized warm handoff and referral protocols; expanding peer recovery support services; conducting community resource mapping; strengthening community partnerships through a Community Engagement Workgroup; and collecting performance data to support continuous quality improvement and SAMHSA reporting requirements. The goals of the project are to increase overdose response capacity, expand access to OORM, improve linkage to treatment and recovery services following overdose events, strengthen community partnerships, and improve recovery outcomes throughout the Choctaw Nation Tribal Service Area. Measurable objectives include training 360 unduplicated participants annually; distributing OORM to 100% of trained first responders; establishing standardized warm handoff protocols within the first six months; convening a quarterly Community Engagement Workgroup; completing a comprehensive resource mapping assessment by Year 2; and providing peer recovery outreach within seven business days to 90% of individuals referred following an overdose.
