Summer 2024 Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE
MOUD Clinic Research Exchange Welcomes 30+ Clinics
CAPP Highlights: Kentucky Council Member
Peer Support Specialist Data Registry Continues to Grow
Lunch & Learns
Additional Resources

The STARS MOUD Clinic Research Exchange

Welcomes 30 Plus Clinics and Counting

The STARS Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Clinic Research Exchange is a practice-based research network that aims to advance research on behavioral interventions and other support services that can facilitate treatment and recovery among individuals with OUD. The Exchange is comprised of clinics in Central Appalachia that provide MOUD/medication-assisted treatment (MAT), including opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and office-based opioid/addiction treatment (OBOT/OBAT) programs. 

 

To date, the MOUD Clinic Research Exchange has welcomed 30+ new clinics that are participating in focus groups, survey recruitment, lunch and learns, and partner initiatives such as Project ECHO (details below). Clinic members include:

  • Brighter Horizons Health Center, LLC

  • Carilion Clinic Addiction Services

  • Catalyst Bristol Lifestyle Recovery

  • Catalyst Health Solutions (2 locations)

  • Denova Behavioral Health (2 locations)

  • Dragonfly Medical And Behavioral Health

  • Insight Human Services (2 locations)

  • Integrated Care of Greater Hickory (5 locations)

  • Martinsburg Institute

  • Mosheim Recovery Associates Inc.

  • North Wilkesboro Comp Treatment Center

  • Overmountain Recovery

  • Restoration Recovery

  • ReVIDA Recovery Centers (9 locations)

  • The Doctors Office, LLC

  • Wise Path Recovery Center (2 locations)

SAVE THE DATE: Clinic Research Exchange Summer Meeting
Thursday, August 29, 2024
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
 
Please help us recruit more participating clinics!
 
To reach our goal of 50 clinic members, we are currently prioritizing engagement with:
  • OTPs throughout Central Appalachia
If you are familiar with a clinic that provides MOUD/MAT and that would be a good fit for the research exchange, please click the button below to contact Dr. Angela Hagaman. 
CAPP Highlights:
Kentucky Council Member
The Central Appalachian Peer Partnership (CAPP) Advisory Council is a STARS initiative comprised of Peer Support Specialists (PSS) who inform the development of recovery science in Central Appalachia. 
 
In this issue, we feature the perspective of CAPP's Kentucky council member, Della Maxey, Peer Support Intake Monitor at Liberty Place Recovery Center for Women in Richmond, KY.
What have been some of the most rewarding aspects of your work in peer recovery support? 
 
The most rewarding aspects of my job in peer support are to offer encouragement to my clients and to see something stick with them and the light come on in their eyes. I love helping people, and in peer support, I can see the outcome of my work when I build a good relationship with a client and they find their way to recovery. It is like being a proud parent; my heart gets full.
 
What are some of the looming challenges for peer recovery support services and/or the work that you are doing right now? 
 
Some of the looming challenges for peer support work in general are low funding and under-staffing. We all seem to be pulled so thin in our position when we have many job titles and a huge caseload. We also lack recovery resources for low-income families to afford housing, food, and other necessities. I want to be able to help more. This is a personal challenge I am facing in my own work, because I am an office manager for a sober living apartment building - sort of a house mom - and I see the struggles these women face trying to establish their households while maintaining their sobriety.
  
In your experience, what are some factors in Kentucky specifically that are supporting or limiting peer recovery support services? 
 
Some factors in Kentucky specifically that are limiting peer support work are dropout rates, as I am sure a lot of states have, as well as a lack of funding for resources and lack of transportation. Also, sustaining our peer support can be both a limiting and supporting factor because we need to renew our own well-being and growth in order to be of service to our clients. This is a strength here in Kentucky, and I have a large support system and an understanding work family.
 
How might the CAPP Advisory Council help to address any challenges? What do you hope the CAPP will accomplish this year? 
 
I think the CAPP program is already helping to address challenges through the registry to gather data about PSS, not only about our job duties but also about peer's wellbeing, which is needed to address dropout rates. I hope the CAPP reaches our goal of registry entries and is successful in training peers about recovery research through tutorial videos. I find this to be very helpful for me to understand the subject better, as will other peers.
  
What is one thing you’ve enjoyed so far serving on the CAPP Advisory Council?
 
I have enjoyed being a part of the CAPP Advisory Council because I feel it gives peers a voice. In all the meetings, I always felt heard and respected. I have enjoyed meeting peers from other states to see how we differ in our roles. Each of us have very different employment roles, but amazingly the same goal, to be of service to our client and recovery. It has given me a new perspective on the different components of the job.
Peer Support Specialist (PSS) Data Registry
Continues to Grow
The CAPP Peer Support Specialist (PSS) Data Registry is an opportunity to learn more about the roles and activities of PSS in Central Appalachia, including PSS working with patients/clients utilizing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD). To date, the registry has enrolled more than 250 PSS through the baseline survey.
 
To join the PSS Data Registry, participants first complete a consent form and take a baseline survey. The first 1,000 participants will receive a $25 gift card. PSS Data Registry participants will be contacted to voluntarily participate in additional surveys with incentives. For more information and the criteria to register, please visit: https://the-orcca.com/peer-data-registry.
 
NEW SURVEYS AVAILABLE! Registered PSS who have completed the baseline survey will be invited to take the next surveys focused on:
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
  • Perception of Stress
The perception of stress survey builds on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10 developed by Cohen et al. (1983) and enhanced for a two-factor scaling model by Taylor (2015). In addition to recent findings in the literature, the CAPP Advisory Council members emphasized the prevalence of stress and burnout among peer specialists and voted to prioritize this survey for the registry.
Lunch & Learn Recording: Data-driven Prevention Strategies for Community Development
On March 20, 2024, Speakers Alex Hanlon, Sarah Samis, and William Ellis provided an overview of how to approach data integration and data sharing across communities, front-line substance use prevention professionals, academic research partners, and state and local agency staff. You can view the recording here. 
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
ETSU Project ECHO 
(Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)

Project ECHO will link specialist teams at an academic “hub” with primary care clinicians in local communities – the “spokes” of the model. Together, participants will engage in weekly teleECHO™ clinics that act like virtual grand rounds combined with mentoring and patient case presentations.

The I AM ECHO aims to improve access for patients suffering from OUD through a six-week series consisting of brief educational sessions followed by case presentations focused on addiction/substance use disorders and the management of this complex diagnosis, including co-occurring diagnoses.

 

Learn More: https://www.etsu.edu/com/cme/iamecho.php

 

OAC Partnership Development Coordinator
Employment Opportunity
The Partnership Development Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating efforts to develop and grow partnerships with harm reduction programs across Tennessee, and specifically in the High Impact Areas (HIA) of the state. This effort supports work funded by the TN Opioid Abatement Council (OAC) to develop and implement an overdose prevention and response education program to address the threat of fentanyl adulterated with xylazine in the illicit drug supply. The project takes place almost exclusively within syringe service programs, therefore it is essential that the person hired for this position has a deep understanding and acceptance for the role of harm reduction in preventing overdose mortality. Individuals with experience providing peer support are strongly encouraged to apply.
 
JEAP Pilot Study:
Non-abstinent Peer Recovery Support Services
Researchers with the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health are recruiting peer providers, supervisors or program administrators, service recipients, and researchers to serve on an expert panel for a Delphi study. The purpose of the study is to establish best practices for training peer providers to deliver non-abstinent recovery support services. Participation is welcome from a diversity of voices, especially those who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in research (e.g., Black, Indigenous, LatinX, and other people of color; people with disabilities; LGBTQI+ identified; and young adults ≤25 years). 
 
Learn more and/or sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/HRpeers
 
STARS Affiliate Research
You can browse research and publications produced by STARS members here: https://the-orcca.com/affiliate-research.

 

Please contact us if you have recently published work you'd like to share with the STARS network related to Peer Recovery Support Services, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), and similar topics.

Looking for a collaborator?
STARS Members have access to a searchable database of 50+ member profiles by member type, location, and areas of interest. https://the-orcca.com/member-only-area
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