MONTHLY NEWS AND UPDATES
April 30, 2019
IN THIS ISSUE

  ●     Member of the Month: Riverside University Health System
●    Funding: Opioid Workforce Expansion Program
●    Winning the Fight: Contra Costa Starts Suboxone in the Streets
●    Event: National Opioid Leadership Summit in Sacramento
●    Focus: Opioid Alternatives
●    Things You Can Do
●    IEOCC Workgroups
●     IEOCC Quarterly Coalition Meetings

Member of the Month: Riverside University Health System
We are excited to launch this new regular feature with Riverside University Health System. RUHS Emergency Department and Addiction Medicine along with Behavioral Health are addressing opioid addiction in many ways:

●    Training nurses and physicians in addiction screening and MAT, with x-waiver training for ED physicians.
●    Seeking grant support for an ED bridge program, for social workers, addiction medicine, and the ED team to connect with patients and link them to residential and outpatient SUD resources. This is the first time the ED has applied for a grant.
●    Initiating MAT in Corrections, with linkages to care at release. Screening completed for nearly 7,000 new probationers for SUD, PH, and MH, via the Whole Person Care team.
●    Providing Naloxone to patients and families.
●    Treating pregnant women with SUD in prenatal clinic to minimize neonatal abstinence syndrome, and creating a county-wide care standard for prenatal care.
●    Increasing MAT access in 40+ SUD sites countywide.

To find out more or connect and share insights, please visit here .
Funding: Opioid Workforce Expansion Program
The Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (OWEP) Paraprofessionals program is accepting applications through May 7 . The program aims to strengthen the training of students and behavioral health paraprofessionals who are preparing to become peer support specialists. The focus is on the prevention, treatment and recovery services of Substance Use Disorders, including Opioid Use Disorder. More information can be found here .
See the California Opioid Safety Network’s list of open funding opportunities . The IEOCC newsletter will continue to feature select opportunities.
Winning the Fight: Contra Costa Starts Suboxone in the Streets
Joseph Mega, MD, heads a street medicine team in Contra Costa County that provides on-demand Suboxone prescriptions to homeless heroin users.

Contra Costa is also expanding emergency department and county jail MAT services. Read the full story here .
Events: 2019 National Opioid Leadership Summit
Join the Public Health Institute, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and colleagues from across the country on June 25, 2019, in Sacramento to collaborate on solutions to the opioid crisis bridging the criminal justice, health care and public health sectors.  Sign up for updates, early-bird pricing and event registration. 

Focus: Opioid Alternatives
The Pause model from the Kettering Medical Network in Ohio provides a pathway to treat and manage pain without opioids. Designed in partnership with Addiction Medicine and Pain Management, the Pause model is backed by literature and tested by physicians of emergency and hospitalist medicine. More information, resources and a downloadable toolkit can be found here .  
Things You Can Do     
1. MAT providers: Contact one of these Emergency Department Bridge programs if they are in your area: ARMC, St. Mary Medical Center, San Gorgonio, or crouch-j@iehp.org to get connected.

2. X-waivered providers in IEHP network: Look for and complete a survey from IEHP about your level of MAT services.

3. Help IEOCC decrease stigma in health care organizations. Send resources that have worked for your organization to kathy@signalkey.com .

4. Learn from others. Stay connected to 20+ coalitions statewide through the California Opioid Safety Network and its own newsletter.

IEOCC Workgroups: Join one to collaborate on specific goals to end the crisis

Access to Treatment • Education & Engagement 
Safe Prescribing • Reporting & Outcomes • ER Toolkit
Email Joshua Crouch, crouch-J@iehp.org , to learn more.
IEOCC Quarterly Coalition Meetings

Tuesday June 11, 2pm - 4pm
Inland Empire Health Plan, 10801 Sixth Street, Rancho Cucamonga, CA or join online

Focus for June: Best Practices in Harm Reduction
 
Learn more about the IEOCC and its mission and vision on our website.
ABOUT THE IEOCC
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Vision:  To reduce opioid use and opioid related deaths in the Inland Empire.

Mission:  The Inland Empire Opioid Crisis Coalition (IEOCC) creates effective community collaborations between member organizations and individuals who need help with pain management and addictive disorders. The coalition employs the values and techniques of harm reduction and integrated care.

IEOCC will ensure the following changes occur in their communities:

  • Education and engagement with service providers and community members.

  • Safer prescribing practices for opioid medications.

  • Increased use of medication-assisted addiction treatment (MAT), as part of a comprehensive system of integrated behavioral health care.

  • Increased availability and use of the overdose reversal drug Naloxone.


Thank you for your support in working together to improve the quality of life in the Inland Empire!