Ridgeview awarded HRSA grant
*MEDIA RELEASE*
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michael J. Yates
November 6, 2018 PHONE: (865) 719-7221
Ridgeview awarded HRSA grant
Oak Ridge, TN — Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services was recently awarded one-year funding by the Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA). The TennSCORE (Tennessee Scott/Campbell Opioid Response and Engagement) Project is supported by HRSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $200,000 with no percentage financed with non-governmental sources.
TennSCORE is a consortium comprised of county-specific healthcare, secondary education, criminal justice, public child-welfare, faith-based, and prevention and treatment stakeholders for the purpose of developing a strategic plan that addresses and promotes improved access to prevention and behavioral health / substance use disorder treatment.
Hannah Samawi, the Campbell County workgroup Team Lead, said, “I’m delighted to be working with so many wonderful stakeholders in Campbell. This is a real opportunity for Campbell County residents to devise a strategic plan that uniquely meets the needs of the county.” While Trent Coffey, the Scott County workgroup Team Lead, echoed, “In rural Appalachia, the opioid epidemic is very much a local problem that deserves local engagement around solutions. Given the emphasis TennSCORE places on the local community, I’m eager to see what strategies are proposed.”
Core activities during the planning period include strengthening TennSCORE, analysis of gaps and opportunities related to opioid use disorder, development of a strategic plan related to access to care and OUD prevention and treatment, workforce planning, and sustainability. The county-specific workgroups meet monthly and report to the larger TennSCORE consortium every other month. TennSCORE Project Director, Michael Yates, emphasized the value of a dynamic, collaborative effort that promotes a high level of community engagement, “Though we’ll be communicating at a variety of levels within each community, we also see the value in hosting community forums for the public to enhance individual, caregiver, and community engagement.”
One-year funding for the program began October 1, 2018 with a goal of engaging the targeted rural areas of Campbell and Scott County to develop a strategic plan to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with opioid overdoses. The TennSCORE Consortium is strengthened by its partnership with the Social Work Office of Research and Public Service at the University of Tennessee (UT SWORPS) to assist with performance measurement and overall evaluation of project effectiveness. The efforts of TennSCORE do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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Michael Yates is Director of Development for Ridgeview
Ridgeview is a private, not for profit community mental health center with locations in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, Roane, and Scott counties.
Photograph: TennSCORE Consortium Kick-off, October 29th at Cove Lake
