Rural Project Examples Addressing Behavioral health

Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team (ARMOT)
Updated/reviewed January 2023

Need: To reduce the number of overdoses and overdose-related deaths from opioids in rural Pennsylvania.
Intervention: ARMOT provides 1) case management and recovery support services to individuals with substance use disorders and 2) education and support to rural hospital staff, patients, and their loved ones.
Results: Since 2015, ARMOT has received over 2,956 referrals.

Positively Living & Choice Health Network
Updated/reviewed December 2022

Need: To provide healthcare and support to thousands of East Tennesseans living with HIV/AIDS, mental illness, substance use disorder, and homelessness and dealing with LGBT discrimination.
Intervention: Positively Living & Choice Health Network provides services like a medical clinic and pharmacy, therapy, client services like housing aid and transportation, and a harm reduction program.
Results: The program currently serves 5,000 individuals and families through its offices in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and rural Cookeville and its mobile medical unit for rural communities.

Schoharie County ACEs Team
Updated/reviewed December 2022

Need: Agencies in Schoharie County, New York were seeing a widespread trend of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in children and families they served.
Intervention: The Schoharie ACEs Team was formed as a way to educate rural communities about ACEs, the brain science behind it, and ways to build resiliency.
Results: The ACEs Team has put on 4 half-day educational conferences, 2 virtual conferences, and 10 trainings for various groups across the region, trained 3 school districts on trauma-informed care, and provided resources for families exposed to trauma.

Health-e-Schools
Updated/reviewed October 2022

Need: Rural school children lack proper healthcare resources within the school setting.
Intervention: Health-e-Schools provides health services to students via telehealth using video conferencing and special equipment.
Results: Health-e-Schools increases access to primary healthcare, increases attendance in the classroom, and decreases the amount of time that parents or guardians must take off of work to bring their child to health-related appointments.

Indiana ASPIN Veteran's Services
Updated/reviewed October 2022

Need: To address the lack of mental healthcare options for rural veterans.
Intervention: A telebehavioral health hub network was created to connect community mental health centers to the VA Medical Center.
Results: More than 3,000 telehealth appointments have been made, saving hundreds of veterans time and money.

ASPIN's Certified Recovery Specialist Program
Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: Improved approach in addressing the behavioral health and primary care disparities of Indiana's underserved rural counties.
Intervention: A network was established that trained community health workers (CHW) to be certified health insurance enrollment navigators and provide mental health services.
Results: This year, ASPIN trained 230 CHWs, cross-trained 70 behavioral health case managers as CHWs, and 35 individuals in the Indiana Navigator Pre-certification Education.

Frontier Area Rural Mental Health Camp and Mentorship Program (FARM CAMP)
Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: To reduce the shortage of behavioral health professionals in rural Nebraska.
Intervention: A week-long camp teaches high school students in rural and tribal communities about different career options in behavioral health and provides mentorship after the camp ends.
Results: In 2022, 10 high school students participated in the camp, and a former camper returned to present on their work in a psychology lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Geezers, Gulpers, and Gardeners
Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: Suicide rates among white males age 65 and older have been rising in North Carolina. Challenges include losing friends, illnesses, and the loss of independence – all of which can lead to isolation and depression.
Intervention: The Chatham County Council on Aging of North Carolina started Geezers, Gulpers, and Gardeners (3G Group) to connect retired men in need of male friends and mutual support.
Results: Men in similar stages of life and varying backgrounds are forming friendships, engaging in activities, and taking care of their mental health.

Morrison County Accountable Community for Health
Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: To combat prescription drug misuse in rural Morrison County, Minnesota.
Intervention: The Morrison County ACH brought together primary care, social services, law enforcement, and other partners to make sure that patients receive treatment and support.
Results: One pharmacy saw a 40% reduction in the number of prescribed opioids, and the ACH was able to taper 684 patients off opioids completely.

Butte Child Evaluation Center
Updated/reviewed August 2022

Need: Before 2000, Butte and southwest Montana had around 1,300 cases of child abuse a year, with only a 20% conviction rate for perpetrators of sexual abuse.
Intervention: Multiple agencies in the community came together to address the issue of child abuse by forming the Butte Child Evaluation Center (CEC), a Children's Advocacy Center.
Results: During a 3-year grant cycle, over 200 interviews and exams were performed on victims of sexual abuse and the Butte CEC became the first program in Montana to be accredited by the National Children's Alliance.

Rural Project Examples: Behavioral health