May 22, 2020
The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) announced two funding opportunities to address opioid use disorder in rural communities.
Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) – Planning (HRSA-20-109)
HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy announced a new funding opportunity to enhance capacity to address substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder, in rural communities. HRSA will make approximately 50 awards of $200,000 each to rural communities. For more information, please visit the notice of funding opportunity.
A technical assistance webinar for applicants will be held on Wednesday, May 27 from 12:00-1:30 pm PST.
A recording will be made available for those who cannot attend.
- Playback Number: 1-888-704-1108 | Passcode: 52720
Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) –Implementation (HRSA HRSA-20-021)
HRSA has extended the application deadline for the three-year RCORP-Implementation program to May 29, 2020. This funding opportunity aims to enhance the ability to access treatment for rural residents by strengthening and expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery services for substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder. For more information, please visit the notice of funding opportunity.
An archived recording of the technical assistance webinar is available for applicants.
Apr 7, 2020
Health Management Associates, California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative, and California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative gathered a diverse task force of obstetric and pediatric providers, anesthesiologists, nurses, social workers, and public health professionals to create a comprehensive, practical toolkit focused on maternal and newborn care from the prenatal period through hospital discharge. The Mother & Baby Substance Exposure Initiative (MBSEI) toolkit is designed to support the preparation of maternity and pediatric caregivers, and a broad group of service providers to overcome barriers and deliver safe, effective, and coordinated care for mothers and newborns affected by opioid use disorder.
The overarching goals of the toolkit are to support providers’ efforts to address the full continuum of care for mothers and babies affected by opioid and other substance use disorders while maintaining the mother/baby dyad whenever possible. This is accomplished through the provision of numerous evidence-based, best practices addressing screening for identification, treatment for the mother and the exposed infant, care transitions, and education options for staff and families. The toolkit considers the intricacies that potential scenarios present: difficulties in screening, stigmatized care, variability of provider and staff knowledge, the challenges of care coordination, and the different settings in which services may be provided. These goals drive a lucidity of purpose to offer safe, effective, patient-centered, hopeful care that is free of stigma and prejudice.
The online toolkit is an outcome of the Mother & Baby Substance Exposure Initiative, one of several California MAT Expansion projects. The goal of MBSEI is to increase access to MAT using the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorder (OUD). Anticipated outcomes of the initiative include reduction in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) severity and length of stay in the hospital, and increase the number of mothers in long-term recovery.
Apr 2, 2020
California has made significant progress in expanding access to opioid treatment, but roadblocks still remain, according to a recent article from Kaiser Health News. The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently shared outcomes from the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Expansion project, which has expanded opioid treatment to more than 20,000 patients statewide and created more than 650 new access points for treatment.
The growing number of patients has been encouraging but stigma against MAT and limits on the number of patients that prescribers can treat has hindered progress. COVID-19 has further complicated matters, by making face-to-face prescribing and therapy difficult during the stay-at-home order.
DHCS, along with MAT Expansion Project partners, are combating stigma with public information campaigns like Choose Change California. The project also focuses on training providers to treat patients in other settings, including emergency rooms, hospitals, primary care clinics, residential treatment programs, county mental health centers, jails and drug courts. And, the state has released new guidance allowing treatment via telehealth for prescribers and counselors, to continue providing treatment to patients during social distancing.
To learn more about the MAT Expansion project, see the slides from a recent webinar series highlighting the project’s initiatives; to learn more about MAT during the stay at home order, visit DHCS’ COVID-19 page.
Aug 1, 2019
The California Bridge (CA Bridge) program recently the participation of 22 additional hospitals in the program. This extends the program’s reach to 52 hospitals, serving 34 counties. The CA Bridge program expands access to medication assisted treatment by providing accelerated training and technical assistance for health care providers.
Jun 18, 2019
With support from DHCS, Harbage Consulting is creating a series of MAT Toolkits aimed at educating the SUD workforce about MAT and how it can help the clients they serve.
The first toolkit, released in January, is aimed at informing residential treatment facilities about how they can offer MAT within their facility, either by allowing clients to access their medications during their stay, or by receiving approval from DHCS to provide Incidental Medical Services (IMS). The toolkit contains information about the science behind MAT; process for receiving IMS approval; and how providers can become DATA 2000 waivered to prescribe buprenorphine. The toolkit also contains sample policies and procedures for providing IMS, so that facilities can quickly adopt the necessary measures to safely provide clients medications.
The second toolkit was released in June, and is aimed at helping substance use counselors become familiar with MAT and have conversations with their clients about how MAT can help them. The toolkit contains:
- A two-part booklet explaining the research supporting MAT, and how counselors can help clients who are receiving MAT as part of their treatment
- Two quick guide documents to the FDA-approved medications for opioids and alcohol use disorder
- A quick guide to helping clients find an MAT prescriber
- An instruction guide to using the overdose reversal drug Narcan
- A document from the National Council on Challenging Myths about MAT
- SAMHSA’s MAT for Opioid Addiction – Facts for Family and Friends
The toolkits can be accessed from the MAT Toolkits Project Page. Email chelsea@harbageconsulting.com if you are interested in receiving printed copies of either toolkit for your organization.
Future toolkits will focus on providing resources for DUI programs and criminal justice settings. Harbage Consulting is also working on a consumer-facing resource to help educate individuals about MAT and how to find treatment within their community.
