The Collaborative to Advance Health Services at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies, in partnership with the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, has been sub-awarded a $8 million dollar grant for two years as part of a $24 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support primary-care providers in the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorders.
The grant is in response to national leaders in October declaring America’s opioid epidemic a public-health emergency — a designation typically reserved for natural disasters. At that time, SAMHSA announced a new technical-assistance effort in providing state-of-the-art clinical support to providers and to address preventing, treating and supporting recovery from substance-use disorders with a focus on opioid use disorders.
“This award to address the opioid epidemic in Missouri and other states demonstrates the unfailing commitment of UMKC and its School of Nursing and Health Studies to our citizens in the Kansas City region and the state,” said Ann Cary, dean of the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies. “Our uniquely talented professionals and support staff in our Collaborative unit within the school offers unrelenting quality in the provision of health services to our communities, and we are grateful for their enduring talent and leadership.”
The Collaborative to Advance Health Services at UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies is home to several national-based centers that implement evidence-based clinical practices into substance use and mental health treatment. It will receive $4 million a year for two years. This project is an unprecedented alliance of physician, nurse, allied healthcare and behavioral health organizations with broad national, regional and state networks and technical expertise in preventing, treating and supporting recovery from substance use disorders.
The Collaborative will lead 10 regional Addiction Technology Transfer Centers to leverage well-established state-level relationships to build the national technical-assistance infrastructure using proven implementation strategies, said Holly Hagle, co-director of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network, UMKC assistant research professor and principal investigator on the grant for UMKC. Other Collaborative members on the project are Laurie Krom, co-director of the ATTC Network, and Pat Stilen, director of the Mid-America ATTC Network.
“The team members of the Collaborative to Advance Health Services at the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies are very excited to do this important work at a time of crisis for the country,” Hagle said. “Our hope is that it will have an impact on the people and communities who are suffering.”