Issue link: http://accesshealth.uberflip.com/i/1398865
By Elena Cleaves, Staff Writer (© Кирилл Рыжов- stock.adobe.com) In the first of a virtual series on maternal health, U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Regional Operations (Regions 5, 6, and 7) presented on substance use disorder (SUD) and pregnancy. According to the webinar, fetal exposure to substances can affect both the mother and child during pregnancy and after birth. The webinar provided an overview of HRSA's Rural Community Opioid Response Program (RCORP), the effects of substance use during pregnancy, and treatment options. Though treatment is available, it is crucial to understand the effects of various substances and which treatments are best suited for each specific individual. Speakers included Dr. Monica Rousseau, public health analyst for the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy at HRSA, and Dr. Michael Weaver, psychiatry professor and medical director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction (CNRA) at UTHealth. RCORP aims to combat the opioid epidemic in vulnerable and underserved populations. The multi- year HRSA initiative addresses barriers to health care access in rural communities related to SUD and opioid use disorder (OUD). To date, HRSA has dispersed $298 million across 1,420 counties since the 2018 fiscal year. According to Dr. Rousseau, project officer for the RCORP Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (RCORP-NAS) program, rural areas are often left behind in policy. "Evidence-based practices and research are designed, created, and thought up in urban areas. That means not all evidence-based practices are best suited for a rural community. Our job is to be at the forefront of policy change and ensure that HHS knows how it will affect rural areas." RCORP's success to date is credited to its cooperative agreements and branch programs. Cooperative agreements include publicly available technical assistance support for grantees and their work, development of evaluation tools for data collection and analysis, and the program's centers of excellence. "The goal of the centers of excellence is to identify the best evidence-based practices to improve SUD in rural communities," said Dr. Rousseau. Branch programs of RCORP include planning, implementation, medication addiction treatment (MAT), and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Together, the goal of the branches is to address opioid use disorder prevention, treatment, and PAGE 19 August Issue 2021