AFMC’s Rural Communities’ Opioid Response Program – Implementation (RCORP-I)
About
In September 2020, the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) awarded AFMC the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Implementation (RCORP-I) grant. RCORP-I is a three-year initiative aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), in high-risk rural communities.
The goal of this grant is to implement robust, evidenced-based interventions and promising practice models that expand access and strengthen the quality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) services with an emphasis on prevention, treatment and recovery in Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence and Sharp counties.
Project Goals
The goals of this grant program are:
- Incorporate prevention activities by dissemination throughout the catchment area (This would include access to training, referral resources and informational tools).
- Increase SUD/OUD treatment and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) services in the catchment area.
- Engage and empower communities, families and caregivers by providing evidence-based and best practice SUD/OUD recovery model tools.
- Leverage existing materials to enhance prevention activities and training for community organizations SUD/OUD services in the catchment area.
- Engage treatment providers within year one to include services for pregnant and postpartum women who are at risk for SUD/OUD.
This grant operates with both a master consortium that will provide leadership and management oversight for grant activities and a community-specific consortium that will lead grant activities within the five Arkansas counties.
About
In September 2020, the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) awarded AFMC the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Implementation (RCORP-I) grant. RCORP-I is a three-year initiative aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), in high-risk rural communities.
The goal of this grant is to implement robust, evidenced-based interventions and promising practice models that expand access and strengthen the quality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) services with an emphasis on prevention, treatment and recovery in Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence and Sharp counties.
Project Goals
The goals of this grant program are:
- Incorporate prevention activities by dissemination throughout the catchment area (This would include access to training, referral resources and informational tools).
- Increase SUD/OUD treatment and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) services in the catchment area.
- Engage and empower communities, families and caregivers by providing evidence-based and best practice SUD/OUD recovery model tools.
- Leverage existing materials to enhance prevention activities and training for community organizations SUD/OUD services in the catchment area.
- Engage treatment providers within year one to include services for pregnant and postpartum women who are at risk for SUD/OUD.
This grant operates with both a master consortium that will provide leadership and management oversight for grant activities and a community-specific consortium that will lead grant activities within the five Arkansas counties.
RCORP-I Primary Consortium Members
RCORP-I Community Collaborators
The RCORP-I Community Collaborators are key partners who can help maintain awareness, secure support and attract resources to aid in the sustainability of the consortium and activities. If you are interested in becoming a Community Collaborator, please submit an inquiry in the Contact Us section below.
RCORP-I Core Activities:
AFMC, consortium and community collaborators work to implement the RCORP-I workplan activities which outline 15 core activities to achieve the goals of the RCORP-Implementation initiative. The 15 activities are organized into four main areas of prevention, treatment, recovery and sustainability.
Prevention
- Educate to improve understanding of evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery strategies for SUD/OUD, and to reduce the stigma associated with the disease.
- Increase access to naloxone within the rural service area and provide training on overdose prevention and naloxone administration to ensure that individuals likely to respond to an overdose can take the appropriate steps to reverse an overdose.
- Implement year-round drug take-back programs.
- Increase and support the use of school- and community-based prevention programs that are evidence-based to prevent misuse of opioids and other substances.
- Identify and screen individuals at risk for SUD/OUD and provide or make referrals to prevention, harm reduction, early intervention, treatment and other support services to minimize the potential for the development of SUD/OUD
Treatment
- Screen and provide, or refer to, treatment patients with SUD/OUD who have infectious complications, including HIV, viral hepatitis and endocarditis, particularly among persons who inject drugs (PWID).
- Recruit, train and mentor interdisciplinary teams of SUD/OUD clinical and social service providers who are trained, certified and willing to provide MAT, including both evidence-based behavioral therapy and FDA-approved pharmacotherapy.
- Increase the number of providers and other health and social service professionals who can identify and treat SUD/OUD by providing professional development opportunities and recruitment incentives such as the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).
- Train providers, administrative staff and other relevant stakeholders to optimize reimbursement for treatment encounters through proper coding and billing across insurance types to ensure financial sustainability of services.
- Reduce barriers to treatment by supporting integrated treatment and recovery, including integration with behavioral health, the criminal justice system, dentistry and social services. As appropriate, provide support to pregnant women, children and other at-risk populations using approaches that minimize stigma and other barriers to care.
Recovery
- Enhance discharge coordination for people leaving inpatient treatment facilities and/or the criminal justice system who require linkages to home and community-based services and social supports, including case management, housing, employment, food assistance, transportation, medical and behavioral health services, faith-based organizations, and sober/transitional living facilities.
- Expand the peer work force and programming as interventionists in various settings, including hospitals, emergency departments, law enforcement departments, jails, SUD/OUD treatment programs and in the community.
- Support the development of recovery communities, recovery coaches and recovery community organizations to expand the availability of and access to recovery support services.
Sustainability
- Work with insurers and policy makers to address reimbursement for SUD/OUD treatment services.
- Coordinate with community organizations to reach the uninsured in the project counties.
Contact Us
If you are interested in working with our consortium or community collaborators on the RCORP-I efforts, please use this form to contact us.
Peer recovery support
What is a peer specialist?
Certified peer specialists are individuals with lived experience trained to share their own stories of recovery and resiliency. They engage and inspire individuals to plan for what is important to them in their everyday life.
What services do certified peer specialists provide?
- Assist in the development of strengths-based individual goals
- Serve as an advocate, mentor, or facilitator for resolution of issues that a peer is unable to resolve on their own
- Develop community support
- Provide education on ways to maintain personal wellness and recovery
- Provide education on navigating the mental health system
What can peer support help with?
Addiction, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, etc.
Who can make a referral?
Referrals can be made by the individual themselves, family members, health providers, schools, and other community resources.
How to request the services of a certified peer specialist
You can request a referral by:
- Submit the referral form (below)
- Call: 501-804-3335
- Email: peersupport@afmc.org
Peer support referral form
Resources
- AFMC RCORP-I Program Flyer – Information flier for distribution to the public.
- AFMC Opioid Dashboard – The first public comprehensive data system to track opioid-related deaths, overdoses, arrests and prescriptions in Arkansas.
- Arkansas Peer Specialist Program – The Arkansas Peer Specialist Program (APSP) is an innovative three-tiered credentialing process that allows an individual the opportunity to progress through the core, advanced and supervision levels of The Arkansas Model. This process is designed to produce highly trained and knowledgeable peer specialists. Download the program flyer.
Contact a peer recovery specialist. - Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (APNA) – A survey that collects data on health risk behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and violence that can result in injury and/or impede positive development among youth.
- Arkansas Take Back – State website launched under the direction of the state drug director to educate and empower Arkansans to take action against drug misuse and abuse.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Prevention – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) mission is to protect the public by enforcing the criminal drug laws of the United States and by regulating the commercial distribution of controlled prescription drugs. Visit their website for educational and preventative information, including the DEA National Rx Takeback campaign and Red Ribbon Campaign.
- HRSA webpage – The Health Resources and Services Administration webpage provides information on many areas affecting rural health including the workforce, health centers, and funding opportunities.
- Is Medication Assisted-Treatment (MAT) Effective?
- NARCANsas© – The NARCANsas app is a free opioid overdose resource containing tools that will help you administer the drug naloxone in the moment of an opioid overdose and provide steps on how to save a person’s life in the event of an opioid overdose.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
- NHSC Loan Repayment Programs: One Application, Three Programs
- Pandemic Unveils Growing Suicide Crisis for Communities of Color
- PreventionWorksAR.org – A source of Arkansas drug and alcohol abuse data, tools, and available resources offered by the Division of Behavioral Health Services (DBHS), Arkansas Department of Human Services, and MidSOUTH Center for Prevention and Training.
- RCORP-TA page – This portal allows grantees to request technical assistance, find nearby grantees or grantees with a similar focus and access a repository of resources tailored to support RCORP Grantees.
- Save AR Students – Save AR Students is an awareness campaign directed toward education and prevention of substance misuse with a special focus on public and private institutions of higher education in the state of Arkansas.
- SoberNation.com is a website that offers information about addiction, treatment, prevention, and recovery. SoberNation has podcasts and other helpful links.
- The foster care system was unprepared for the last drug epidemic—let’s not repeat history
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