Friday, May 3, 2024
5/3/2024
In 2018, Mecklenburg County Health Department, commonly referred to as Mecklenburg County Public Health, (MCPH) received grant funding from NC DHHS’s Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (IVPB) – Emergency Overdose: Local Mitigation to the Opioid Crisis for Local Health Departments and Districts. This funding began important work with community partners, specifically Queen City Harm Reduction (QCHR) and cross-sector community partner members of the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Taskforce to address linkage to care and harm reduction within Mecklenburg County. Current funding supporting this partnership will end in July 2023. MCPH and QCHR are acutely aware of the disparities in healthcare and housing access, social supports, and linkage to care that have harmful and, oftentimes, fatal impact on people who use drugs (PWUD), especially among persons who are African American and/or Hispanic/LatinX and LGBTQIA+. Together, MCPH and QCHR launched a Wellness Center through their awarded proposal in 2019: Community Linkage to Care “Innovative Project”. This Wellness Center is a safe haven for people who use drugs (PWUD) who are seeking vital supports and peer connection. Individuals access this Center at their pace and convenience to receive safer drug use and safer sex supplies, naloxone, HIV, Hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing. Mobile outreach workers also meet with individuals who contact QCHR to provide these services remotely, offer wellness check-ins, and connect individuals to resources. This low-barrier harm reduction service provider is essential to improving substance use and drug overdose outcomes, and sustaining this SSP and the trust built with PWUD and QCHR is one of the activities MCPH intends to pursue to expand successful linkage to care and harm reduction. MCPH does not have a comprehensive substance use surveillance and response program to understand and coordinate efforts that comprehensively address substance misuse and substance use disorders in our communities. It is, therefore, vital that MCPH seek the funds and resources to develop a robust platform that can track drug-related trends which will better inform service providers on the needs of people who use drugs and how current services can be reformed and/or developed. Funding obtained through this cooperative agreement will also enable the existing Mecklenburg County Opioid and Substance Use (MCOSUD) Task Force to gain an internal data-sharing framework, an objective that the MCOSUD Task Force so far has been unable to achieve. MCPH's clinical education outreach and engagement is supported by Atrium Health, and the Charlotte Area Health Education Center. Our course director, Dr. Christopher Griggs, is board-certified in pain management and a recognized leader in clinician education in North Carolina regarding managing pain in persons with or at risk for substance use disorders. Successful implementation of the clinical education effort described in this proposal will increase the number of health systems and health care providers in Mecklenburg County who follow and incorporate CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Pain Management. Together the strategies MCPH, with the input from community, state and federal partners, proposes to implement if funded will make the existing work in Mecklenburg County more effective; we will be able to understand the impact and incidence of substance use disorders on our community and use the data to share to drive appropriate community partnership interventions; and we will achieve a higher level of clinician awareness while providing concrete tools and information to help them care for people who use drugs (PWUD) more compassionately and effectively. Most importantly, Mecklenburg County Health Department will be able to ensure that harm reduction services and linkage to care navigation are preserved and expanded in the second largest metropolitan area in North Carolina.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
