The Brown County Health Department’s work is being featured as a success story of the HEALing Communities Study in Ohio, purchasing a mobile medical unit with technical assistance and funding from the HCS.. Photo provided
A local agency continues to make a positive impact on overdose deaths in Brown County.
The Brown County Health Department’s work is being featured as a success story of the HEALing Communities Study in Ohio. The health department purchased a mobile medical unit with technical assistance and funding from the HCS.
With the mobile medical unit, health department personnel provide overdose prevention education and naloxone distribution. The unit includes triage space, an exam room, and storage for medical supplies. Additionally, individuals can receive substance use assessments, telehealth appointments, and assistance accessing treatment providers. The department has targeted remote and underserved areas throughout the county and distributed 1,343 naloxone kits to mobile unit visitors from March to December 2023.
The Brown County Health Department receives its naloxone supply from the Project DAWN program, along with funding from state agencies and the local mental health and addiction services board to support continuation of the mobile medical unit.
From June 2022 through December 2023, Brown County took part in the HCS intervention as one of 19 participating counties in Ohio. The study allocated funding for county coalitions to lead a community engaged, data-driven process to select and implement evidence-based practices to reduce overdose deaths. A health communications campaign was also implemented in each county to reduce stigma and increase demand for those evidence-based practices. The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative.
“We know that one reason individuals do not receive life-saving naloxone or access substance use assessment and treatment services is that they do not have access to transportation. Brown County is addressing this head on by using the mobile unit to take these critical services to the community members most in need,” says Bridget Freisthler, Ph.D., who worked as one of the principal investigators of the study at The Ohio State University. “We feel privileged that we were able to partner with the Brown County Health Department to help make a difference in the community and among those dealing with addiction.”
More information about study results, as well as the full success story, can be accessed by visiting https://u.osu.edu/hcsohio/.