Region 8 rural opioid technical assistance center of excellence - the western interstate commission on higher education (wiche) behavioral health program (BHP) will partner with utah state…

Region 8 rural opioid technical assistance center of excellence - the western interstate commission on higher education (wiche) behavioral health program (BHP) will partner with utah state university (USU) to create the region 8 regional opioid technical assistance - rural (rota-r) center of excellence. Through this partnership, wiche BHP will enhance access to rural communities through USU's cooperative extension networks and will collaborate on resources developed by USU's health extension and partner with other state cooperative extension systems in region 8. This project has three primary goals: 1. Identify, develop, and implement effective strategies for rural communities to address the misuse of opiates and stimulants across the behavioral health continuum of care (prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery). 2. Foster regional and national alliances among culturally diverse SOR and TOR grantees, behavioral health, and other healthcare practitioners, prevention specialists, policy makers, people with lived experience, and other state, regional, and national partners. 3. Ensure the availability and delivery of publicly accessible and free training and technical assistance on opioid and stimulant misuse across the behavioral health continuum of care to partners, stakeholders, families, and individuals with lived experience in rural and tribal communities. The covid-19 pandemic has additionally impacted the behavioral health of many americans of all ages, and mental health and substance use disorders have been on the rise dramatically over the past two years (1), and region 8 is no exception. There was a tripling of the percentage of people living in the region older than 12 years who reported heroin use in the past year (2). Also, the single day counts for those enrolled in substance use disorder treatment increased by nearly 35,000 between 2015 and 2019, as did those in opioid treatment programs (3). The center of excellence will focus on the state-prioritized populations most impacted by behavioral health issues: veterans, older adults, youth, adolescents, young adults, american indian/alaskan native, black/african american, hispanic/latino, and lbgtqi+. The project will focus on reaching these disparate populations in rural, tribal, and frontier communities as well as any other populations of focus gathered from partners and stakeholders during the needs assessment and technical assistance and training (TA/t) planning. The center of excellence will provide TA/t to 922 individuals over two years, plus will reach hundreds more through publically available presentations, handouts and flyers, and social media, earned media posts. Services will include a thorough needs assessment, dedicated website to access training and resources, monthly series of extension for community healthcare outcomes (echo) and community of practice session, and a behavioral health learning collaborative for students within academic behavioral health programs. Promotion and integration of evidence-based and best practice models for opioid use disorder (OUD) and stimulant use disorder (stud) prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services will be delivered with fidelity to the model as translated in rural settings. The samhsa values will be promoted for positive behavioral health, trauma informed care, behavioral health equity, and recovery as a process of change towards a self-directed life of wellness and health. A regional advisory workgroup will be convened and monthly calls facilitated with all SOR and TOR project directors in region 8, to support their initiatives through TA/t, while always leveraging existing samhsa TA resources. Resources: 1) trends and disparities in treatment for CO-occurring major depression and substance use disorders among US adolescents from 2011-2019. Https://jamanetwork.COM/journals 2-3) samhsa behavioral health barometer, region 8, volume 6