Pima County Health Department (PCHD)’s Coordinated, Accessible, Responsive, Equitable and Safe system (Pima CARES) is a rapid response to the surge in overdose deaths and injury in Pima County, in Arizona. Pima CARES will use data to drive action steps that reduce overdose morbidity and mortality in Pima County communities quickly, while reversing health disparities. Pima CARES expands and enhances evidence-based strategies and use of shared data to eliminate overdose deaths and injury throughout Pima County as well as those communities recognized to be at highest need.¿
PCHD will launch Pima CARES to extend the scope of our current responses while broadening inclusion of community members, public safety responders, health practitioners and health care systems. Through needs and service assessments, we are committed to identifying new partners, extending linkages and retention to care for existing partners, and identifying gaps that require additional resources. We will leverage our provider network which offers a diverse mixture of evidence-based programs, and our justice system partners who complement these services with mental health support teams, substance use resource teams, and diversion programs, as well as emerging transition services programs in the Pima County Jail.
Pima County Health Department (PCHD) is applying for Overdose Data to Action: LOCAL Components A and C; and not for Component B.
Under Component A Pima CARES will implement and extend strategies which will place navigators to increase linkages to and retention in care; expand harm reduction actions; create an anti-stigma campaign to ultimately decrease barriers to care; create new training curricula for prescribers as part of clinician and health systems best practices; enhance data interoperability through health system IT improvements; and extend overdose surveillance infrastructure by including surveillance of nonfatal overdoses.
For Component C Pima County Cares will extend Linkage to and Retention in Care Surveillance - a critical component to rapidly understanding and evaluating interventions, the impact of these interventions, appropriately disseminating those that work, and creating a learning public health system. Moving to an efficient and effective information technology platform that relies on standardized data and messaging and is interoperable is key to creating and sustaining impactful community-based solutions.