Michigan AHEC Awarded HRSA Funding to Help Address Opioid Crisis

Michigan AHEC was recently awarded a one-year $230,000 grant from U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that will be used for workforce training activities to support opioid use disorder diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The funds will be divided among Michigan AHEC's five regional centers for activities that help address unique aspects of the Opioid crisis in their region.

The Mid-Central Regional Center (MCRC) is planning to conduct training on behavioral health integration with a focus on opioid misuse and abuse among tribal populations. The MCRC will serve as the title sponsor for a conference on the Opioid Crisis with a specific focus on Native Populations in partnership with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal leaders. This event will include objectives that target advance action steps for new and innovative methods of grass roots community-based treatment, development of new and non-traditional community-based access points, community participation in native healing therapies and emphasize early prevention and interventions for Native American youth who reside in tribal and non-tribal communities.

The Western Michigan Regional Center (WMRC) will conduct training for three groups: pre-professionals, health care professionals and community health workers. The pre-professional training concerns behavioral health integration with a focus on opioid misuse and abuse. The professional training will increase access to treatment interventions for Physicians, Physician Assistants (PA) and Nurse Practitioners (NP). Buprenorphine is an evidence based pharmacological treatment that can be used as a part of an opioid dependency treatment plan. To prescribe or dispense Buprenorphine, health care providers (Physicians, PA, NP) must first complete a training program and obtain a health care provider waiver. This project will develop and provide the necessary education required to obtain a health care provider waiver to support the drug enforcement application to prescribe this medication. The community health worker training will focus on Substance Use Disorder (SUD) training including strategies to address prescription opioid misuse and addiction in rural and underserved communities.

The Upper Peninsula Regional Center (UPRC) will provide pre-professional training on behavioral health integration with a focus on opioid misuse and abuse. The goal of the project is to train a total of 80 nursing and social work students using the Mental Health First Aid Training program (MHFA). The training will also address sustainability by having four faculty members complete a train the trainer workshop. MHFA is an evidence-based, eight-hour mental health and SUD awareness training class.

The Northern Lower Regional Center (NLRC) activity involves behavioral health integration with a focus on opioid misuse and abuse and community health worker training on SUD including strategies to address prescription opioid misuse and addiction in rural and underserved communities. The goal of the project is to train health professionals and health professional students over the next 12 months using the Mental Health First Aid Training program. The training will also address sustainability by having one or more staff members complete a train the trainer workshop.

The Southeast Regional Center (SERC) will focus on behavioral health integration with an emphasis on opioid misuse and abuse for community health workers, health providers and youth. SERC will support several workshops and continuing education events with supplemental funding. Community health worker training on SUD will be conducted and will include strategies to address prescription opioid misuse and addiction in rural and underserved communities. They will also work with youth and the general community by conducting opioid use disorder outreach in community based settings. SERC is partnering with the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority and Project Recovery to focus on training Detroit Public School Community District and local communities on SUD and opioid addiction.

The Michigan AHEC program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U77HP26852. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.