Ohio University

The Community of Practice Response to Behavioral Health Care Support in Rural Ohio will continue a highly innovative approach that empowers local community consortium from four rural Ohio communities to work together to improve access to and quality of substance use disorder (SUD) and other behavioral health (BH) care services. As an extension of previous RCORP-Planning and RCORP-Implementation awards, this project will support the Ashtabula County Substance Abuse Leadership Team, the Fairfield County Opiate Task Force, and the Seneca County Opiate Task Force (with support from the Sandusky County Health Partners) in implementing activities aligned with the three goals set forth by the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program –BH Care Support initiative. The goals of the project are to: (1) address structural- and systems-level barrier to improve rural resident’s access to quality, integrated SUD and other BH care services; (2) improve the quality and sustainability of rural BH care services through supporting rural health care providers to offer coordinated, evidence-based, trauma-informed SUD and other BH care services; and (3) improve the capacity of the BH care system to address rural community risk factors and social determinants of health that affect the BH of rural residents. Through a community of practice approach, Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, in collaboration with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, will support the local consortia with training and technical assistance to ensure the project’s goals are met through a work plan that prioritizes equity and sustainability.