SPECIAL PROJECTS
NALOXONE DISTRIBUTION PROJECT
The Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) is funded by the SOR grant and administered by DHCS. The NDP aims to reduce opioid overdose deaths through the provision of free naloxone, in its nasal spray formulation. The NDP has distributed 191,000 units of naloxone since the beginning of October 2019! If you would like to learn more about the organizations and counties that have received naloxone, click here.
As of February 2019, the NDP is also accepting applications from hospital emergency departments and residential treatment facilities. If you would like to submit an application for free naloxone, or if you know of other entities that would like to submit an application, you can learn more about the NDP and access the application here.
VALLEY Health Associates is part of this project and working to distribute naloxone throughout communities of Monterey County.
CALIFORNIA MEDICATED ASSISTED TREATMENT (MAT) EXPANSION PROJECT
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is implementing the California Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Expansion Project to address the opioid epidemic with three (3) overarching goals of:
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increasing access to MAT,
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reducing unmet treatment needs, and
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reducing opioid overdose-related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment, and recovery activities.
1) Narcotic Treatment Program (NTP) Resource Expansion, Access, and Collaboration for Health (REACH)
aka NTP REACH
The Narcotic Treatment Program (NTP) Resource Expansion, Access, and Collaboration for Health (REACH) project is a component of the California MAT Expansion efforts. NTP REACH aims to expand the capacity of California’s NTPs to provide access to medications for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), with emphasis on building infrastructure and personnel competence for the dispensing and/or prescribing of all three U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for MAT to address the opioid epidemic.
Valley Health Associates is an NTP REACH grantee and is undergoing a project to build infrastructure, develop personnel, develop partnerships, build referral pathways, and improve perceptions of Medication Assisted Treatment.
2) Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access Points / (MAT) Prevention & Education
The MAT Access Points Project, funded through the Department of Health Care Services California MAT Expansion Project and administered by The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, is creating a network of organizations throughout California to address the opioid crisis by supporting prevention, education, stigma reduction, treatment, and recovery services for people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and by increasing access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). MAT uses medications with counseling to treat the whole person. It is the gold standard of care for OUD. The project is creating a community of practice that lifts up and makes available racially and culturally responsive population-based and place-based approaches for California’s most underserved communities.
As a grantee, Valley Health Associates has been implementing strategies for expansion and will soon be launching a new public outreach & public education project intended to 1) increase our Latino community’s understanding of Substance Use Disorder (SUD), with a specific focus on Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and create tangible links to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) services and treatment providers, and to 2) implement specific, culturally and linguistically appropriate prevention, outreach, and education, and increase MAT access for our Latino community.
CALIFORNIA YOUTH OPIOID RESPONSE (YOR CALIFORNIA)
The mission of the California Youth Opioid Response (YOR California) is to develop a continuum of youth-responsive and family services that include prevention, intervention, connection to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and recovery services. YOR California aims to conduct relevant and target outreach and engagement for youth with or at risk of an Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) to improve access to MAT, reduce unmet treatment needs, and prevent overdose-related deaths through a continuum of services.
Valley Health Associates is executing a planning grant intended to develop an implementation plan whereby clients in the VHA youth treatment program will learn to use their cellular devices to receive daily automated text messages designed to reinforce steps in their recovery as well as permit continual monitoring and customized messages of reinforcement. Clients will also be able to schedule counseling appointments and receive reminders to take their prescribed medication when necessary. In addition to sending automated reminders, the interactive nature of the software offers the patients’ the opportunity to ask questions and communicate with their assigned Peer Support Specialist. This planning grant also will involve piloting the use of cellular phones and blue tooth enabled devices to help counselors monitor their clients to self-manage their urges and cravings.
OTHER INITIATIVES WE SUPPORT