Arukah Institute of Healing, Inc.

We propose an innovative, collaborative strategy for reducing morbidity and mortality of SUD, including opioid use disorder (OUD) for women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and their families in Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall and Putnam Counties (ILLINOIS). This region is enduring a women's healthcare crisis with the closing of a major hospital that provided the majority of obstetric, labor and delivery services. This has caused a scarcity of services and for moms that are socioeconomically disadvantaged or face other health disparities, this change has been catastrophic for access to care. Not only is transportation a major issue in our 2,500 sq. mi. region, but vulnerable women face other barriers such as stigma, lack of primary care, lack of consistent prenatal care, language barriers, and lack of social/family supports, among others. This sequence of events has ignited the pivoting and collaboration of consortium members, who leverage tremendous successes of the RCORP NAS-I funding and respond to these new challenges and barriers. The proposed project use the momentum of the past 3 years to strengthen and expand the capacity of women's health services by investing in a local women's health practice to become the sustainable "one-stop-shop" provider of comprehensive care for vulnerable NAS populations. This project will ignite and propel outreach, education, and treatment efforts across the harder-to-reach communities for at-risk teens and pregnant or postpartum moms by investing in education and engagement approaches. This project will enhance cross-sectoral linkages within the community to ensure any NAS participant, anywhere, anytime can access the needed care across the continuum of preconception to postpartum. There are 5 key consortium members collaborating on this project. All are located within the rural service area.