Morrison County Accountable Community for Health

Description

In 2011 and 2012, CHI St. Gabriel's Health staff in rural Little Falls, Minnesota, began noticing an increase in opioid use among patients – both for medical needs and misuse. In addition, prescription drugs were the most common reason for emergency department admissions.

To combat prescription drug misuse, Morrison County formed an Accountable Community for Health (ACH), part of a statewide effort to bring together partners like local public health boards, social services, law enforcement, and primary care through formal business agreements and service integration.

The Morrison County ACH was a partnership of:

• CHI St. Gabriel's Health
• Coborn's Pharmacy
• Public Health – Morrison County
• Social Services – Morrison County
• South Country Health Alliance
• Stand Up 4 U Coalition

The project received funding from a State Innovation Model Grant.

Services offered

Patients contacted the clinic if they needed help overcoming their opioid use disorder. Patients were then scheduled to meet with Controlled Substance Care Team members, who worked to educate the patients on available community resources such as mental health services and job assistance. If the patient qualified, medication-assisted treatment was offered to the patient as part of their recovery. In addition, the Morrison County ACH began a buprenorphine and naloxone program to treat patients with an opioid use disorder. In addition, the Morrison County ACH began a buprenorphine and naloxone program to treat patients with an opioid use disorder.

In 2017, the project received a grant to start a Project ECHO Hub, a collaborative model of medical education and care management. CHI St. Gabriel's Health Project ECHO had up to 75 sites listening. The care team and nurse practitioner also mentored other communities and helped them receive grants to replicate their project.

Results

Through data provided by one pharmacy, there was a 40% decrease in the number of narcotic pills entering the community from that pharmacy. Since the inception of the project, that community's clinic tapered 684 patients off narcotics.

According to a survey of 83 patients receiving medication-assisted treatment from the clinic, patients spent an average of 56.7 days in jail throughout Minnesota prior to medication-assisted treatment. After consistently receiving medication-assisted treatment, they spent an average of 4.7 days in jail.

There were 44 rural providers offering medication-assisted treatment and over 400 patients receiving care and treatment for their substance use disorder.

In 2016, the Morrison County ACH received a Commissioner's Circle of Excellence Award from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. In 2017, the ACH won an American Hospital Association NOVA Award.

Challenges

Project coordinators worked to obtain additional funding to sustain the ACH, since much of the work was not currently reimbursable by third-party payers.

Replication

Bring together existing agencies in the community and find leaders in the medical community who will champion your cause. You will also need some type of funding support to start, since it can be a struggle to get third-party reimbursement for this program.

Contact Information

Brad Vold, Health and Human Services Director
Morrison County
320.632.0247
bradv@co.morrison.mn.us