Mid-Valley Healthcare, Inc.

Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital will work to implement the Rural Communities - Supporting Women and Youth (RC-SWAY) project to reduce morbidity and mortality related to substance use disorder and opioid use disorder in rural Linn County, Oregon. Under the direction of the RC-SWAY Consortium, they will strengthen and expand SUD/OUD prevention, treatment and recovery activities throughout rural Linn County. A collaborative approach to SUD/OUD, RC-SWAY will serve pregnant women, women of childbearing age and youth. The project will also strengthen the peer support workforce by increasing Peer Support Specialist (PSS) supports. A recent needs assessment revealed that pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and youth are highly vulnerable populations with few services available to them. It also identified the need for a strong recovery community, particularly for PSSs. This project will develop peer support services for pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and youth. Youth prevention and outreach will be expanded to include provision of Botvin’s LifeSkills training in elementary and middle school classrooms and early intervention services for youth and their families. Supports for PSSs will be strengthened through the development of a PSS support group and provision of mentoring and counseling for PSSs. All partners will work in tandem to screen and connect individuals with SUD/OUD or at risk of SUD/OUD to prevention, treatment, and recovery services. A regional media campaign will be conducted to educate the public about SUD/OUD and to reduce stigma. Provider education will be developed to address stigma around SUD/OUD and materials will be developed to connect patients to partnering agencies.