Addiction Treatment Starts Here: Equity-Centered Community Learning Collaborative

Angela Sherwin
angela.sherwin@careinnovations.org

Learning collaborative for primary care health centers in California to address substance use disorder (SUD) inequities.

The curriculum will address clinical and operational issues associated with medication assisted treatment (MAT) equity, including but not limited to:

• Health equity foundations, strategies for identifying health inequities, and implementing a health equity program
• Expanding primary care MAT program models, including community partnerships with community-based organizations and/or involving peer support workers, to reduce SUD treatment, access, and health outcome disparities
• Patient identification, selection, and outreach
• Staff training and education for MAT, especially addressing equity and relationships with community partners
• Assessing levels of care and building strong referral pathways to specialty care when appropriate
• Strategies to reduce barriers to care – specifically racism, discrimination, stigma, and trauma – by actively embracing health equity practices
• Harm reduction
• Trauma-informed care
• Tools and approaches to address stimulant use disorder and manage co-occurring SUDs, such as alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, tobacco, and/or benzodiazepine use
• Systems practice tools to support building partnerships and collaborations across care transition points, such as with acute care hospitals with emergency departments, sobering centers, behavioral health programs, schools, and the justice system

The program will include:

• Learning sessions
• Webinars
• Site visits
• Half-day trainings
• One on one coaching support
• Virtual role based peer forums
• An online community

Eligible participants are organizations in California that provide comprehensive primary care services to underserved populations. Organizations must be nonprofit and tax exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code or a governmental, tribal, or public entity. This includes:

• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and FQHC look-alikes
• Community clinics, rural health clinics, and free clinics
• Ambulatory care clinics owned and operated by local jurisdictions
• Indian Health Service clinics

$75,000 awarded in 3 installments based on the completion of program deliverables.

Complete the online application at the bottom of the program website.

Applicant webinar recording