Lincoln County Ambulance District receives $300,000 in grant funding to build a Mobile Integrated Healthcare program

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Chief Administrator Raymond Antonacci [email protected] (636) 528-8488 ext 302

 

TROY, MO – Lincoln County Ambulance District announces they have been awarded a new Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Overdose Response. The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded this 1-year grant to Lincoln County Ambulance District through the Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this program is to support immediate responses to the overdose crisis in rural areas through improving access to, capacity for, and sustainability of prevention, treatment, and recovery services for substance use disorder (SUD)/opioid use disorder (OUD).

 

This program is an opportunity to further expand the service delivery model to include treatment and recovery services for individuals with SUD/OUD through the evidenced-based Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) model. The Lincoln County Mobile Integrated Health Network (LC-MIHN) is comprised of primary care providers, community paramedics, emergency medical technicians, community health workers, and a newly added peer support recovery specialist. This MIH team will provide quality and accessible care, address many social determinants of health, and reduce costs to the health care system. This project will serve a geographic catchment area of Lincoln County.

 

The LC-MIHN will provide in-home, non-emergency care to high-risk patients through community paramedics. Community paramedics are specially trained to provide in-home assessment and treatment for patients to avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency department and to avoid re-admission after discharge when possible. Community paramedics will work jointly with an integrative care team to coordinate referrals, connect patients to community resources and assist in telehealth access. Community paramedics do not replace EMTs and paramedics responding to emergency calls.

 

The LC-MIHN will focus on the following key strategies and selected activities:  harm reduction with Narcan/naloxone distribution; improving access to treatment by purchasing a vehicle; training and certification (peer support, community health worker (CHW), and Project ECHOs;  assisting individuals with obtaining health insurance, treatment, and social services; expanding peer recovery support specialists; providing mobile crisis intervention services; and improving capacity to telehealth services.

 

“The Lincoln County MIH team will provide excellent and accessible care, address many social determinants of health, and reduce costs to the health system in our rural community. Our model initiates care in the home with community paramedics and serves as the bridge between the patient and provider to ensure our patients receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time,” said Chief Administrator Raymond Antonacci.

 

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $300,000 with 0 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. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.

This grant application was made possible through Missouri Foundation for Health’s MoCAP program. Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) is building a more equitable future through collaboration, convening, knowledge sharing, and strategic investment. Working in partnership with communities and nonprofits, MFH is transforming systems to eliminate inequities within all aspects of health and addressing the social and economic factors that shape health outcomes.

 

If you would like more information, contact Chief Administrator Raymond Antonacci [email protected] or by calling the office at (636) 528-8488 ext 302