This federal Project Grant award, valued at $3,054,966.00, was provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under the Mental Health Disaster Assistance and Emergency Mental Health program (CFDA 93.982). The funding will support the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) in delivering crisis counseling, outreach, case management, and mental health worker training services to individuals affected by...
This $499,956 federal Project Grant award from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) program, will fund the Kent/Brown Family Medicine Residency in Pawtucket, RI to enhance training for Family Medicine (FM) residents, faculty, and other primary care providers (PCPs) to address the healthcare needs of people experiencing homelessness. The key products and services to be delivered include: 1) Developing a specialized Street...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded a $250,000 per year, 4-year Project Grant under the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program (CFDA 93.912) to the White River Health System, Inc. in Batesville, Arkansas. The grant aims to enhance healthcare access and services for rural residents in North Central Arkansas. Key products and services to be provided include: expanding behavioral health services for substance use disorder...
This $400,000 Project Grant award from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement program (CFDA 93.912) aims to address the opioid epidemic and mental health crisis in the rural communities of Valley County, Idaho. The funding will support a range of interventions to decrease prescription opioid risks, enhance access to overdose prevention services,...
The Rural Behavioral Health Institute received a $250,000 Project Grant award from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy under the Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement program (CFDA 93.912). The award will support the implementation of a school-based program - Screening Linked to Care (SLTC) - to provide suicide risk and mental health screening, brief intervention, and care navigation services to 7,500...
This Project Grant award of $500,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants program (CFDA 93.732), will fund the Altruistic Behavior Institute's Rural and Tribal Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program at Cal Poly Humboldt. The program aims to increase the supply of behavioral health professionals and improve the distribution of a well-trained behavioral health workforce in rural and...
The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program - Pathways (AROUTE-P) initiative is a $399,998 project grant awarded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to the Arkansas Behavioral Health Integration Network (ABHIN) on September 1, 2025. The grant, which runs through August 31, 2028, aims to address behavioral health workforce shortages in six rural North Arkansas counties by building a sustainable, youth-driven pipeline into behavioral health careers. The program will engage middle and...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded a $600,000 Project Grant to Jacksonville State University (JSU) under the Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants program (CFDA 93.732). The "Rural Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program" at JSU aims to develop a pipeline of skilled behavioral health professionals to serve rural Alabama. Key initiatives include: Providing...
This federal Project Grant award of $399,314 was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement program (CFDA 93.912). The grant was awarded to Medical Care Development Inc. (MCD), a non-profit public health institute based in Hallowell, Maine, to support the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program -...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded a $320,000 Project Grant under the Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants program (CFDA 93.732) to Strength In Peers Inc., a non-profit organization based in New Market, Virginia. The grant funds a six-month structured internship program that will train up to 16 Certified Peer Recovery Specialists per year to serve in high-need and high-demand behavioral health...
ENHANCING RHODE ISLAND'S RURAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS THROUGH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING AND SUPPORT - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: TITLE: ENHANCING RHODE ISLAND'S RURAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS THROUGH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING AND SUPPORT INTRODUCTION: IN RESPONSE TO THE PRESSING NEED FOR IMPROVED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES IN RHODE ISLAND'S RURAL COMMUNITIES, THE RHODE ISLAND DISASTER MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TEAM/MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS (RIDMAT/MRC), A DISTINGUISHED 501(C)(3) NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, IS SPEARHEADING A COMPREHENSIVE GRANT INITIATIVE. WITH ITS UNIQUE STATEWIDE REACH AND THE DISTINCTION OF HOLDING AN EMS AGENCY LICENSE, RIDMAT/MRC IS POISED TO LEAD THE CHARGE IN ADDRESSING THIS CRITICAL ISSUE. BUILDING ON OVER TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN PROVIDING TOP-TIER MEDICAL EDUCATION TO CLINICAL VOLUNTEERS, COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERS, FIRST RESPONDERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, RIDMAT/MRC IS WELL-POSITIONED TO EXECUTE THIS INITIATIVE EFFECTIVELY. OBJECTIVES: 1. PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING: RIDMAT/MRC WILL DELIVER THOROUGH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING PROGRAMS TAILORED SPECIFICALLY FOR RURAL EMS PERSONNEL. LEVERAGING ITS WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN MEDICAL EDUCATION, RIDMAT/MRC AIMS TO ENHANCE THE CAPACITY OF RURAL EMS RESPONDERS IN RECOGNIZING, ASSESSING, AND RESPONDING TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUD) AND CO-OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS. 2. INCREASE ACCESS TO NALOXONE: AS PART OF THE INITIATIVE, RIDMAT/MRC WILL WORK TO BOLSTER ACCESS TO NALOXONE WITHIN RURAL EMS AGENCIES. BY FACILITATING THE AVAILABILITY OF NALOXONE, THE ORGANIZATION SEEKS TO EMPOWER EMS RESPONDERS TO EFFECTIVELY COMBAT OPIOID OVERDOSE EMERGENCIES, POTENTIALLY SAVING COUNTLESS LIVES. 3. ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL PEER-SUPPORT SPECIALISTS: RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF ONGOING SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS GRAPPLING WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS, RIDMAT/MRC WILL FORGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL PEER-SUPPORT SPECIALISTS. THESE ALLIANCES WILL SERVE TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS ASSISTANCE AND RESOURCES TO INDIVIDUALS IN NEED WITHIN RURAL COMMUNITIES. 4. IMPLEMENT INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES: RIDMAT/MRC'S TRAINING, INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE, BOASTING A 10,000 SQUARE-FOOT STATE-OF-THE-ART TRAINING FACILITY, WILL SERVE AS THE HUB FOR IMPLEMENTING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES. FROM IMMERSIVE TRAINING AND SIMULATION CAPABILITIES TO MOBILE TRAINING UNITS, RIDMAT/MRC WILL ENSURE THE SEAMLESS DELIVERY OF EVIDENCE-BASED AND TRAUMA-INFORMED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING TO EMS PROVIDERS ACROSS RHODE ISLAND'S RURAL LANDSCAPES. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: 1. ENHANCED RECOGNITION AND RESPONSE: THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING, RURAL EMS PERSONNEL WILL DEMONSTRATE IMPROVED ABILITIES TO RECOGNIZE AND RESPOND TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH EMERGENCIES, LEADING TO MORE EFFECTIVE PATIENT CARE. 2. INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF NALOXONE: BY EXPANDING ACCESS TO NALOXONE, RIDMAT/MRC AIMS TO SAVE LIVES BY MITIGATING THE DEVASTATING IMPACTS OF OPIOID OVERDOSE EMERGENCIES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. 3. ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL PEER-SUPPORT SPECIALISTS WILL ENSURE INDIVIDUALS GRAPPLING WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS RECEIVE ONGOING SUPPORT, FOSTERING THEIR JOURNEY TOWARDS RECOVERY AND WELL-BEING. 4. IMPROVED EMS EDUCATION: THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, RIDMAT/MRC WILL ENHANCE EMS EDUCATION, ENSURING PROVIDERS ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST TOOLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO DELIVER EXCEPTIONAL CARE. CONCLUSION: RIDMAT/MRC'S COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING RHODE ISLAND'S RURAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS THROUGH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING AND SUPPORT IS UNWAVERING. BY LEVERAGING ITS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, STATEWIDE REACH, AND CUTTING-EDGE TRAINING FACILITIES, RIDMAT/MRC IS POISED TO MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON RURAL HEALTHCARE DELIVERY. THROUGH THIS GRANT INITIATIVE, THE ORGANIZATION SEEKS TO EMPOWER EMS PROVIDERS WITH THE NECESSARY SKILLS, RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT TO DRIVE POSITIVE CHANGE AND FOSTER HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE.