Substance Use Prevention, Treatment,
and Recovery Program

January 10, 2022

13 Oklahoma counties will share $700,000 to provide community-based prevention services

By Carol Binghom, Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Project Director, 580-562-5042

South Western Oklahoma Development Authority (SWODA) has entered into a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) to provide community-based prevention services.

These prevention services includes an array of evidence-based programs, policies, and/or practices planned. These are implements at the local level by representative community coalitions to prevent risk factors contributing to substance use and related consequences.

As part of the ODMHSAS strategic plan to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral problems, community-based preventive service delivery plans will be coordinated with ODMHSAS field staff and other sector-based prevention services as appropriate.

The ODMHSAS is seeking community coalitions to provide community-based preventive services from now until June 30, 2025. The $700,000 in funding will be awarded in the amounts of $50,000 per year per county for Beckham, Harmon, Kiowa, Washita, Caddo, Kingfisher, Grant, Blaine, Canadian, Texas, Woodward, Grady, and Jackson counties. By Carol Binghom, Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery project director, 580-562-5042

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January 7, 2022

SWODA awarded over $467,00 funding to assist in education and prevention programs

By Carol Binghom, Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Project Director, 580-562-5042

Over 73,000 residents of Caddo, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and Tillman counties may benefit from funding to develop, implement or expand comprehensive programs in response to illicit opioids, stimulants or other substances of abuse.

South Western Oklahoma Development Authority (SWODA) is applying for $467,365 to fund these efforts. This Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Program (an advisory board to SWODA) involves four different projects to address identified issues.

Developing education and prevention programs to connect law enforcement agencies with students in grades 6-9 in the public school system by using the keepin’ it REAL (kiR) curriculum. The kiR program is an effective, multicultural middle school drug prevention program derived from evidence-based research.

Naloxone will be provided to law enforcement and other first responders each year to help with the opioid overdose death rate. The county sheriff’s department will disperse the naloxone within their county.

Twice-a-year drug take back programs will be established to safely dispose of unused controlled substances that are found in the home, used by hospitals and used in long-term care facilities.

Home medication lockboxes will be distributed to the public to help reduce either the accidental overdose or to help prevent stealing of prescriptions.

The project includes partnerships between the law enforcement and the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Program in each of the five counties. These counties were designated Rural Challenges, Persistent Poverty Counties, or Qualified Opportunity Zones by the Office of Justice Programs and U.S. Census information.

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AUGUST 17, 2020

Over $1 million in grants awarded to SWODA to address opioid misuse in 23 Oklahoma counties

By Carol Binghom, Western Oklahoma Opioid Prevention Consortium Project Director

Two grants totaling over $1 million were awarded to South Western Oklahoma Development Authority (SWODA) to address opioid misuse in the following 23 counties: Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Cimarron, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Kiowa, Major, Roger Mills, Texas, Tillman, Washita, Woods and Woodward.

The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Implementation Grant is for $1 million. SWODA wants to reduce the occurrence of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) among new and at-risk users, as well as, fatal opioid overdoses. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) on a mobile medical unit will be used while utilizing telehealth services for treatment and recovery. This is in collaboration with Red Rock Behavioral Health Services and Northwest Center for Behavioral Health. The mobile unit will be staffed with an advanced practice registered nurse and patient navigator.

Funds will also be used in public schools in conjunction with Oklahoma Department of Health Educators in a life-skill training for third through fifth grade students to help them avoid the misuse/abuse of opioids and prescription drugs.

Other ways the funds will be distributed are as follows: Narcan will be purchased and distributed to Vance and Altus Air Force Base barracks. There will be funds available to train doctors to become Data 2000 waivered to treat opioid abuse disorder patients using MAT. Oklahoma Conference of Churches will train peer coaches and increase the number of recovery programs in our communities. They will also collaborate with The Amethyst House in Altus to establish a MAT recovery house in central western Oklahoma.

SWODA also received a $50,000 grant from Telligen Community Initiative (TCI), a private, Iowa-based charitable foundation. The one-year funds will supplement the salaries of the advanced practice registered nurse and a patient navigator for the mobile medical unit.

Western Oklahoma Opioid Prevention Consortium was one of only 15 grants selected for TCI’s 2020 Oklahoma and Colorado-based funding cycle, which awarded a total of $640,685 in grants to nonprofit organizations in these states ($325,000 to Oklahoma and $315,685 to Colorado). TCI works to support projects in the priority funding areas of health innovation, health care workforce development and access to care for the underserved. Since 2014, TCI has awarded more than $10.3 million to 251 organizations and projects in Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Western Oklahoma Opioid Prevention Consortium is represented by the following:

· SWODA - Debora Glasgow, Executive Director; Carol Binghom, Project Director; Stephanie Haworth, Special Project Coordinator

· Jackson County Courthouse – District Attorney David Thomas

· District II Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force – Chet Glancy, Coordinator/Director

· Southwest Regional Surgical Associates – Dr. William Sims, MD, FACS

· Great Plains Youth and Family Services – Kody Suanny, Executive Director; Kim Rumschlag, Program Director

· Oklahoma Conference of Churches – Michael Owens, Program Manager

· Carnegie Public Schools – Middle School Principal Randy Turney

· Clinton Indian Health Services – Dr. Kara Cline

· Beckham County Courthouse – Associate Judge Michelle Roper, District Court

· Southwest Oklahoma Community Action Group– Kelly Baker, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program Director

· Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs – Laura Broyles, Program Manager

· Parent Group Representative - Renee Roberts

· Person in Recovery Representative - April Ruiz

· Red Rock Behavioral Health Services – Ashley Jackson, BHCM II, RSS Clinical Coordinator

· Jackson County Health Department – April Collom, Public Health Educator

· Beckham County Health Department – Arielle Howard, Public Health Educator

· The Amethyst House – Staci Kirby, Executive Director

· Northwest Center of Behavioral Health – Charita McOsker, Executive Director; Glenda Blosser, Prevention Specialist

· Southwestern Oklahoma State University – Kalie Kerth, Rural Health Services

· Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services - Consultants

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,000,000 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. The overall goal of the program is to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with opioid overdoses in high-risk, rural communities by strengthening the capacity of multi-sector community agencies to increase the access of care and resources for prevention, treatment, and recovery. The Western Oklahoma Opioid Prevention Consortium was developed by SWODA Executive Director, Debora Glasgow, and the SWODA Board of Trustees. Twenty-three counties in western Oklahoma will benefit from the three-year grant.

More information will be coming soon to the SWODA website at www.swoda.org. If further information is needed contact Carol Binghom, project director, carol@swoda.org or Stephanie Haworth, special project coordinator, stephanie@swoda.org or by phone at 580-562-5042.

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