Union County receives $750K Rural Healthcare Services Programs from the Health Resources and Services Administration

Rural communities opioid response program-impact - this application, coordinated rural recovery system (crrs), is submitted by the mental health and recovery board of Union County (mhrbuc), the behavioral health planning and funding authority for Union County, Ohio. Crrs is a countywide, multi-sector initiative designed to strengthen the rural substance use disorder (sud) continuum of care by expanding access to prevention, treatment, recovery, and supportive services across Union County’s target rural service area, with a particular focus on the county’s northernmost and most rural communities. Project partners include mhrbuc, paxis institute, prevention awareness support services (pass), coleman health services, lower lights christian health center (llchc), Union County department of job and family services (ucdjfs), wings support & recovery, the village network, mighty crow, council for Union County families, the county’s three school districts, marysville police department, and the Union County sheriff’s office. Crrs will strengthen and sustain an integrated rural sud service delivery system that improves how individuals of all ages access, navigate, and remain engaged in care. The project will strengthen rural prevention infrastructure through coordinated school-, healthcare-, and community-based prevention services, including evidence-based school prevention programming and training for community professionals. It will expand access to treatment through rapid sud assessment, psychosocial treatment, medication for opioid use disorder (moud), mat navigation, and adult mobile crisis response paired with law enforcement in the county’s rural communities. Crrs will also enhance the recovery continuum through certified peer recovery support, care coordination, and connections to housing, transportation, employment, insurance, and other supportive services that reduce barriers to long-term recovery. In addition, crrs will strengthen school-based early intervention and support for youth with complex behavioral health needs, including those at risk for or affected by substance use, by building on existing partnerships in the county’s most rural district. Across the project period, crrs will support a more responsive rural behavioral health workforce through targeted training and technical assistance for moud providers, peer support specialists, prevention professionals, navigators, and other service providers. Mhrbuc will also lead network coordination, referral pathway development, and sustainability planning to improve service integration and ensure the long-term viability of effective prevention, treatment, recovery, and supportive services. Through this coordinated multi-sector approach, crrs will create a stronger, more accessible rural sud ecosystem that helps individuals and families enter care earlier, access the right level of treatment and recovery support, and remain engaged in services regardless of age, insurance status, or where they enter the system. By expanding evidence-based prevention, treatment, recovery, and supportive services while strengthening workforce capacity, coordination, and financial sustainability, crrs will improve outcomes for rural residents affected by substance use disorders throughout Union County.