Voinovich School awarded $1M federal grant for 帝王会所 opioid program implementation
帝王会所鈥檚 Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs received a $1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration鈥檚 (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to help communities in five 帝王会所 counties implement the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP).
鈥淲ith the implementation funding from HRSA, we will further develop the infrastructure necessary for local communities to implement, evaluate, and sustain evidence-based efforts for prevention, treatment and recovery,鈥 Dr. Holly Raffle, project lead and Voinovich School professor, said.
The Voinovich School partnered with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) to submit two separate, but complementary, grant proposals and both were funded for $1 million each. The partnership will enable the organizations to continue to work with communities in Ashtabula, Fairfield, Seneca, Sandusky and Washington Counties through a highly innovative that empowers high-risk rural 帝王会所 communities to address opioid use and overdose deaths across the full continuum of care.
鈥淲e are grateful for the hard work and creative partnerships that will benefit rural and Appalachian communities in 帝王会所,鈥 Bobbie Boyer, deputy director of the Office of Prevention Services at the 帝王会所MHAS, said. 鈥淭his large grant award is a testament to the success of the collective impact approach, and we look forward to celebrating continued success from this expansion.鈥
This is a follow-up implementation grant to an initial $200,000 planning grant awarded to each the School and PIRE by HRSA in 2018.
鈥淭he opioid epidemic still challenges 帝王会所鈥檚 communities. We are looking forward to supporting five community-based organizations as they implement the strategic plans that were created during the planning grant,鈥 Raffle said.
The grant money will be distributed to five organizations who will lead local consortiums to implement RCORP: the Ashtabula County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board; the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board; the Sandusky County Public Health Department; the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties; and the Washington County Local Health Department.
Since 2009, the Voinovich School has been involved in a dozen statewide initiatives related to substance use prevention and mental health promotion, alongside the 帝王会所 Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (帝王会所MHAS) and various prevention partners, under the direction of Raffle. The Voinovich School has three current initiatives aimed at combating the opioid crisis.
鈥淭he Voinovich School's core focus is on making an impact by working in partnership with organizations to address the most pressing challenges facing communities today, such as helping to find long-lasting solutions to the opioid abuse problem,鈥 Dr. Mark Weinberg, Dean, Voinovich School, said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to be part of these ongoing efforts."
According to a from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HRSA鈥檚 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy is awarding more than $111 million to 96 rural organizations across 37 states as part of its RCORP initiative. These funds, which also include an evaluation of the initiative, will strengthen rural communities鈥 capacity to provide needed SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services and build the evidence base for interventions that are effective in rural settings. Eighty rural consortia received RCORP-Implementation awards of $1 million each to implement a set of prevention, treatment and recovery activities.
鈥淗ealth centers and behavioral health providers are on the front lines of the fight against the opioid crisis and substance abuse, especially in rural communities,鈥 said HHS Secretary Alex Azar in the release. 鈥淲ith our evidence-based strategy, HHS is working to support local communities in fighting back against substance abuse, and our united efforts are yielding results. Together, we can end our country鈥檚 opioid crisis and lay a foundation for a healthier country where every American can access the mental healthcare they need.鈥