Special Projects of National Significance

Yale University School of Medicine was selected as one of two sites nationally to receive a HRSA SPNS grant (Health Resources and Services Administration Special Projects of National Significance) to strengthen system-level coordination and build networks of care between the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and other federal, state and local entities funded to respond to the opioid epidemic to ensure PWH and OUD have access to behavioral health, treatment and recovery services. Yale University will serve as the System Coordination Provider and work with 5 states (CT, VT, WV, KY, NH) that are burdened by the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic has contributed to excess morbidity and mortality in a number of regions, some of which have HIV epidemics, while others are experiencing or at risk for explosive outbreaks of HIV. Scaling up evidence-based treatments for opioid use disorder using medication-assisted therapies (MAT) is the most cost-effective primary prevention strategy, but when on treatment, PWH are significantly more likely to engage in the HIV continuum of care. Other evidence-based strategies for HIV prevention include syringe services programs (SSPs) and pre-exposure prophylaxis. Multi-level factors involving legal policies, structural factors for healthcare delivery and funding, clinic-level and patient-level factors all undermine successful coordination of HIV and OUD services, which will be addressed in this initiative. Collaborator will provide assistance to the team to: - Identify relevant partners and stakeholders to guide scale-up of treatment services for people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) (either with or at risk for HIV). These will be individuals with expertise in the fields substance use and HIV care coordination, treatment and/or prevention. - Collaborator will work with the project team to strengthen/build systems of care that connect people with OUD to HIV/HCV screening and treatment services. - Participate in an environmental scan and a gap analysis of needs for HIV and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). This analysis will be completed by June 2020. It will be completed in collaboration with the project team at Yale and will inform future project needs and objectives. - Collaborator will participate in a learning collaborative through representation at meetings, webinars, and conference calls to scale-up use of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for OUD and strengthening links to HIV care/prevention. The collaborator may present data at professional conferences, seminars, educational events, etc. - Collaborator will assist the Yale project team by providing information on available services and providers and other resources related to HIV and OUD treatment, and by providing expert guidance on the laws and policies access to those services within their jurisdictions. -Collaborator will participate in monthly conference calls with the Yale team to discuss progress of the project, troubleshoot challenges and identify opportunities for process improvement. -Collaborator will work with coaches and consultants provided by the Yale team to meet the above outlined goals and objectives.