RCORP: Changing the Trajectory for Opioids in Wilson County
The Center for Health and Human Services (CHHS) received a $1 million Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) implementation grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in September 2021. This grant allows for implementation of activities identified during the earlier HRSA planning grant and brings additional needed resources to rural Wilson County communities to address the opioid epidemic over a three-year period. CHHS, our campus partners, and Wilson County community partners represented by DrugFree WilCo look forward to continuing to fight the opioid epidemic and make a difference in the health and lives of Tennesseans. Read about recent efforts in this December 2022 media release featuring the Wilson County PIC Center as a spotlight partner. Also, take a look at CHHS newsletters which provide updates on the RCORP Wilson County project in several editions.
There are three core initiatives that are part of the RCORP grant which were completed in the first year of the planning grant: medication-assisted treatment (MAT) training for Wilson County law enforcement, HRSA-sponsored billing and coding training for recovery treatment center staff, and the development of a data dashboard for opioid overdoses that would allow for improved data sharing, interagency communications, and decision- making.
Transportation is being provided to patients needing transportation to treatment, and qualifying patients are now having treatment costs covered through the grant. Part one of a three-year, three-part sustainability plan has been developed in conjunction with the local coalition for work to continue when the grant ends in August 2024. Project outcomes will be shared at the end of the project.
As of mid-2022, CHHS has been planning in anticipation of future funding opportunities which would support additional MAT in a multi-county area, provide mobile treatment services, and prevention activities with multiple community partners. CHHS is also proactively working with two other rural Tennessee Counties for other RCORP grant funding.
HRSA Planning Grant
CHHS, in collaboration with DrugFree WilCo, and with funding from the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), completed
an 18-month comprehensive planning effort to address opioid usage to prevent overdoses
within Wilson County, Tennessee. The planning grant ended in 2021 and the team was
awarded funding for implementation activities to be carried out through August of
2024.
Click here to see the Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis for Wilson County completed as part of the HRSA planning grant.
CHHS partners in this effort include faculty from the Department of Health and Human Performance and the MTSU Data Science Institute. “RCORP: Changing the Trajectory for Opioids in Wilson County” will equip rural communities in Wilson County with a step-by-step plan to address opioid abuse across the county, with the intent of reducing fatalities due to overdose and the associated economic burden related to misuse. Because opioid usage is often co-occurring with other substances, the efforts of the project will also include excessive alcohol consumption as a periphery focus. “RCORP: Changing the Trajectory for Opioids in Wilson County” will involve a broad array of stakeholders from the Wilson County community to transform the DrugFree WilCo group into a formal consortium to create and implement a strategic action plan based on an in-depth needs analysis. These activities are being carried out by DrugFree WilCo consortium members committed to the success of the project through signed MOUs and MOAs.
