University of Pittsburgh

The Susquehanna County Overdose Reduction Expansion Program (SCORE) Program aims to decrease the prevalence of substance use disorder (SUD) within Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania by increasing access to evidence-based and high-quality prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The goals of this project are as follow: (1) Reduce the prevalence of OUD and other SUDs through prevention-focused activities; (2) Implement and expand access to treatment for OUD and other SUDs; and (3) Implement and expand access to recovery services and options for patients and families of patients with SUDs. SCORE will leverage existing community resources and programs to reach all of its goals and objectives. In order to complete the goals and objectives, the project will do the following: (1) PERU will implement Screening, Brief-Intervention, and Referral to Treatment within NEPA FQHCs and WIC sites in Susquehanna County; (2) PERU will train NEPA providers on best-practices related to SBIRT and medication-assisted treatment (MAT); (3) Trehab Community Action Agency will provide comprehensive case management, services including ASAM-based level of care assessments and linkage to treatment and recovery services for patients with SUDs; (4) NEPA will provide high quality MAT services to all patients with SUD and institute diversion and misuse mitigation strategies to improve patient treatment compliance; (5) PERU will develop educational tools and resources for patients with SUDs and their caregivers to improve community knowledge of SUD and to decrease stigma; (6) Susquehanna County Corrections Facility will collaborate with project partners and the criminal justice system to implement reentry and diversion programs to increase access to treatment and reduce recidivism rates; (6) the project team will collect qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate outcomes and improve the provision of SBIRT and MAT services to patients; and (7) Susquehanna Career and Technology Center will provide referrals to Trehab for students in need of SUD services and offer educational, workforce, and low-cost services to individuals in their recovery journey.