RCORP-I IV

Clay, Craighead, Greene, Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph counties

Start Date: September 1, 2022

End Date: August 31, 2025

Consortium Members: 

The goals of this grant program are as follows: 

1. Engaging Consortia members new to response strategy with specifically underserved SUD/OUD target populations.
2. Leverage partnerships to secure support and address health disparities through data collection, program evaluation, and process enhancement.
3. Incorporate prevention core activities including increased access to training, referral resources, and information tools throughout the catchment area.
4. Engage and empower communities, families, providers, and caregivers by providing evidence-based and best practices SUD/OUD treatment and recovery model tools
5. Engage and educate providers to include services for low-income individuals who have criminal justice involvement, homeless, and pregnant/post-partum women who are at risk for SUD/OUD.

AFMC, Consortium Members, and Community Collaborators work together to implement prevention, treatment, recovery, and foundational core activities throughout rural communities in Northeast Arkansas.

Foundational

1. Track and collect aggregate data and other information from Consortium members to fulfill HRSA reporting requirements and use data to support continuous improvement of services and activities.
2. Develop processes for achieving financial and programmatic sustainability beyond the period of performance, including (but not limited to) training providers, administrative staff, and other relevant stakeholders to optimize reimbursement for clinical encounters through proper coding and billing across insurance types.
3. Address the SUD-related needs of populations that have historically suffered from poorer health outcomes or health disparities as compared to the rest of the target population.
4. Leverage partnerships at the local/community, state and regional levels including with rural counties and municipalities, health plans, law enforcement, community recovery organizations and others to secure buy-in for the proposed project and ensure that it complements (versus duplicates) existing SUD/OUD resources.

Prevention

1. Support culturally and linguistically appropriate substance use prevention activities and evidence-based programs delivered in diverse environments and to diverse participants. 
2. Increase access to naloxone within the target rural service area and provide training on overdose prevention and naloxone administration for community members likely to respond to an overdose.
3. Train and strengthen collaboration with and between law enforcement and first responders to enhance their capability of responding and/or providing emergency treatment to those with SUD/OUD.
4. Train community members and other stakeholders on safe storage and disposal of prescription drugs with the potential for misuse.
5. Identify and screen individuals at risk for SUD/OUD and co-occurring disorders/infections complications (including HIV, viral hepatitis, mental illness, etc.) and provide or make referrals to prevention, harm reduction, early intervention, treatment, and other support services.

Treatment/Recovery

1. Recruit, train, mentor, and retain interdisciplinary teams of clinical and social service providers to support an integrated approach to SUD/OUD treatment, including evidence-based behavioral therapy, US FDA-approved pharmacotherapy, and any other necessary supportive services.
2. Create community linkages and referral systems for a seamless entry into MAT/SUD treatment for primary care, emergency departments, law enforcement/first responders, community-based organizations, social service organizations, etc.
3. Ensure linkages to and coordination with home and community-based social services to support individuals in recovery, including those discharged from inpatient treatment facilities and/or the criminal justice system.
4. Expand the peer workforce to provide support in various settings, including hospitals, emergency departments, law enforcement departments, jails, SUD/OUD treatment programs, and in the community.
5. Support the development of recovery support services such as recovery community organizations, recovery homes, mutual aid groups, and other recovery resources and infrastructure to expand the availability of and access to recovery support services.

Additional

1. Provide support for pregnant and postpartum women to enter and adhere to family-centered OUD treatment, reduce the risk of relapse, and prevent, reduce, and manage medical complications in newborns and other children using approaches that minimize stigma and other barriers to care, and support the long-term recovery of women.