The Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded grant funding totaling $881,931 to three Tennessee health clinics. In Middle Tennessee, Neighborhood Health’s grant was for $231,931 and will assist in expanding its program of screening patients for substance use disorders and providing intervention, counseling and referral.
The organization will also use this grant to support medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. The program will include assessment, therapy, education, peer support, and care coordination. Four staff members will be added to provide the additional services, and patient enrollment is expected to begin in August.
“Tennessee is in the top 12 states in the country for prescribing opioid pain relievers, and unfortunately, ranks 11th highest in the rate of drug-related deaths,” said Mary Bufwack, PhD, CEO of Neighborhood Health. “The number of opioid overdoses continues to increase – 129 in Nashville/Davidson County in 2014 alone. We anticipate screening more than 3,500 individuals in the first year of this program and treating at least 60 in the medication-assisted treatment program.”
In total, $94 million in Affordable Care Act funding was distributed to 271 health centers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to improve and expand substance abuse services, with a special focus on the treatment of opioid disorders in underserved populations. It is estimated the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain medications has nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2013, and deaths related to heroin increased 39 percent between 2012 and 2013.
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